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a I A 




WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 



OUTLINE STUDIES 



IN THE 



SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

>A^itn an Index to the Cnaracters m 
Snakespeare s Plays 



Prepared for Students 
by 

MARY E. FERRIS-GETTEMY, M. L. 

Former Principal of tKe High School 
Galesburg, Illinois 



GALESBURG. ILLINOIS 

THE MAIL PRINTING COMPANY 

1904 






Shake^^^^^^^ 



LIBRARY of CONGRES? 
Two Copies fieceived 

DEC 2 jyU4 

Couyriairt tniry 

'IJ\SS Oj XXc. Not 

COPY B. 



COPYRIGHT 1904, BY 

MARY E. FERRIS-GETTEMY 
GALESBURG, ILLINOIS 



TO MY PUPILS 
WHO WERE A NEVER-FAILING INSPIRATION 
TO THEIR TEACHER IN SHAKESPEARE, 
THESE STUDIES ARE AFFECTION- 
ATELY DEDICATED BY 

— The Author, 



FOREWORD 



This study has been prepared to assist the teachers of 
Shakespeare in our own high school, and to furnish in a 
small volume some helpful suggestions and studies for the 
use of the pupils. It is designed to accompany any edition 
of his plays. 

The sidelights to the studies of individual plays are de- 
signed merely to awaken interest in the study, and to call 
attention to, and throw light upon some special features of 
the play, and to suggest lines of study that may be applied to 
other plays. 

The work here presented has been tried with pupils in 
the class room and they thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated 
it. 

The master critics, Gervinus, Ulrici, Coleridge, Dowden, 

Brandes, Hudson and others, have so illumined the pages of 

Shakespeare, that he who reads must see, and the rich 

treasures which they reveal are now considered common 

property. It has been the aim throughout this study to give 

credit for suggestions received from these very helpful 

Shakespearean scholars. Especial thanks are due to Dr. 

Denton J. Snider for giving me ''Carte blanche" use of his 

commentaries ; it is but just to him to say that without the 

inspiration received from his interpretation of this master 

mind, this little venture would never have been launched ; if 

it proves helpful to any in the study of this great searcher of 

the hearts and intents of men, its mission is accomplished. 

M. E. F.-G. 
Galesburg, Illinois, November, 1904. 



HOW TO USE THE BOOK IN CLASSES 



As stated in the preface, the object of this Httle book is 
to form a basis of study to accompany any edition of 
Shakespeare's plays. 

At the beginning of Part III will be found some general 
suggestions for the study of any play, also for the especial 
plays which follow ; these suggestions together with the 
questions on the text and on the plays, and the schemes for 
outline books, indicate to some extent, how the book may be 
used ; it has been suggested that more specific hints may be 
helpful to those who have had but little experience in teach- 
ing this subject. 

The studies of the four plays given are somewhat pro- 
gressive and should be pursued in the order here presented. 

First Year 

Before reading the first play, it might be well to 
spend a few recitations on Part I, Chap. I, so that pupils 
may first get some idea of the growth of the English 
Drama up to the time of Shakespeare, and get interested in 
the subject before beginning the study of the play. When 
the play is taken up, call attention to its mechanism ; then 
refer to the topic. Mechanical Structure (page 80) ; pu- 
pils should learn this at once and carry it with them through 
the play, they will then have no trouble in the future in 
tracing the development of any play. 

Portions of Chap. II as far as Topics to be Noted, etc., 
may be assigned daily in connection with the study of the 
play, spending a few minutes at the beginning of the recita- 
tion in talking about them. The topics in the remainder of 
the chapter may profitably be taken up as suggested by the 
text of the play; The Merchant of Venice is especially 
suggestive on the topics of Religion and Music. 

vi 



HOW TO USE THE BOOK IN CLASSES vii 

What to do with Ethical Principles (Part II, Chap. I) 
with first year pupils must depend somewhat upon the 
class ; if the teacher finds it too difficult for them, touch it 
lightly, first bringing out the thought in the study of the 
play, gradually developing the principles. 

The Dramatic Structure is of great importance in get- 
ting a grasp on the play ; the pupil should first read the play 
through by himself ;* then at the beginning of the class study 
take up the topic Structure (Part II, Chap. II) and apply 
to the play. ( See suggestions on The Merchant of Venice, 
Part III.) If the threads and movements of the dramatic 
structure are constantly referred to in the course of the 
study, they will soon give no more trouble than the mechan- 
ical structure of acts and scenes ; by this means the pupil 
will soon be able to give the office of any character in the 
play. By assigning one or two topics daily upon the Class- 
ification of the Drama this will soon be mastered ; always 
illustrate by the play in hand; First Legendary and His- 
torical — wdiich is The Merchant of Venice?. Second, 
Tragedy and Comedy — which is The Merchant of Ven- 
ice? Third, Real and Ideal — which is The Merchant of 
Venice? Fourth, Pure or Tragi-Comedy — which is The 
Merchant of Venice? The pupil can now classify the 
drama The Merchant of Venice Legendary, Comedy — 
Real, Tragi-Comedy, and give reasons. 

While making a study of a real, tragi-comedy, it is well 
to assign for home reading a play of another class, thus 
showing the contrast; a general favorite is the Ideal Pure 
Comedy As Yon Like It; should there be time for more than 
one play, the Real Pure Comedy Twelfth Night, and the 
Ideal Tragi-Comedy Winter's Tale are popular selections. 

In the first year the historical division of the drama need 
not be dwelt upon to any extent. 

*With beginners who have never read a play of Shakespeare, it 
may be wise to read the first play with them. 



viii STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

The questions (Part II) may assist in assigning lessons 
from the text. 

Second Year 

In connection with the Roman Historical play, Julius 
Caesar, thoroughly review Parts I and II, emphasizing the 
features of the Historical Drama, bringing out the points 
of difference between it and the Legendary Drama, call 
particular attention to the use of the supernatural element 
in the form of superstitious beliefs, omens, classical allus- 
ions, etc. Notice that while threads and movements are 
readily traced, the dramatic structure is looser, while the 
mechanical structure shows the fidelity of the legendary 
drama. 

Third Year 

In connection with the Ideal Tragedies, Macbeth and 
Hamlet, again thoroughly review Parts I and II, emphasiz- 
ing the ethical element of the author's works ; in fact, these 
two plays should be studied throughout from an ethical 
standpoint ; apply classification on page 88 to the plays : 
show how Nemesis follows the guilty doer of an evil deed, 
bringing him to his destruction. Call attention to Topics 
to be Noted (Part I, Chap. II) especially Morals, Relig- 
ion and the Supernatural, the form and use of the Su- 
pernatural is brought out in the studies of these plays in 
Part III, Chap. 11. 

Show how these two plays in a certain sense, form a 
connecting link between the historical and the legendary 
dramas. 

For home reading the pupil is now prepared to read the 
Ideal Tragi-Comedy The Tempest, or any of the strong 
Real Tragedies. 

Blank pages for notes have been inserted at the close 
of the study of each play. 

As in any other subject, so in Shakespeare, nothing will 
awaken the interest and fire the enthusiasm of pupils, like 
fresh coals from the altar of an enthusiastic teacher. 



CONTENTS 



I. 



INTRODUCTORY STUDY 



I. 



The Drama— defined; origin 

Ethics of 
The English Drama 

Development 

Mystery-Play 



THE DRAMA 




PAGE 




PAGE 


3 


Morality-Play . 


9 


4 


Interlude .... 


13 


5 


The Modern Drama 


16 


6 


Early Comedy, Early Tragedy 


. 16. 17 


6 


Crudity of the early Drama 


18 



II. 



SHAKESPEARE AND THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 



The theater in Shakespeare's time 
Shakespeare's senior contemporaries 
Shakespeare; sketch of his life 

Chronological table of plays 

As a dramatist 

Characterization 
Topics to be noted in the study of plays 

Morals .... 

Religion, The Bible . 



19 

23 
24 
43 
45 
48 

51 
53, 54 



The Supernatural . 
Humor .... 
Music .... 
Universal knowledge 

Law 

Medical knowledge 

Nature 

Typography 

Vocabulary 



II. 



PRINCIPLES AND STRUCTURE OF THE 
SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

I. 

ETHICS OF THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 
Ethical principles .... 67|Plan of Shakespeare's Ethical World 

II. 



Plot. Sources of plot 
Dramatic structure 
Threads 
Movements 



STRUCTURE 

74 Mechanical structure 
76 Acts; always five 

76 Scenes ..... 

78 Graphic illustration of plot, opposite 
ix 



I. 



57 
60 
62 
63 
63 
63 
64 
66 
66 



70 



81 
8l 



STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

III. 

CLASSIFICATION 

LEGENDARY OR ROMANTIC, AND HISTORICAL 



Legendary . . . . . 
Historical . . . . . 
Tragedy, Comedy . . . . 
Classification of Legendary Drama 



87 



Classification of Historical Drama 
Tabular classification of Shakespeare's 
Plays ...... 

Summary ...... 



Questions on the Text of I and II 



III. 



93 



THE STUDY OF SHAKESPEARE 



Study of an Individual Play 



Date 

Source of Plot 
Theme . 
Theme traced 
Structure 



SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 
, . lOOlEntrance and Exits of Characters 

II. 

STUDIES OF SPECIAL PLAYS 

A STUDY OF THE MERCHANT OF VENICE 
SIDELIGHTS 

106 



106 
107 
108 
111 



Some legal aspects 

The Bible in The Merchant of Venice 

Questions ..... 

Schemes for outline book 

Topics for essays and discussion 



A STUDY OF JULIUS CAESAR 
SIDELIGHTS 



The Three Roman Plays 

Coriolanus; Antony and Cleopatra; 

Julius Cissar 
Julius Ciesar, source of plot 
Caeser in the play 
Brutus in the play 
Tragedy and Comedy of the play 
Ethical standpoint of the play 
The Caesar of history 



Some features of the play 
The supernatural element 
Superstitious beliefs of the times 
Weird Sisters 
Hecate . 
The Porter 
Theme . 
Basis of the Drama 
Ethical Standpoint 
u cture 



125 

125 
126 
127 
127 
128 
128 
131 



Structure .... 

Time analysis 

Questions .... 

The supernatural element 

Cassius and the conspiracy 

Brutus 

Antony 
Scheme for outline book 
Topics for essays and discussion 



A STUDY OF MACBETH 


SIDELIGHTS 






143 


Questions 






144 




(a) 


Review . . . . 




144 




(b) 


The Drama . . . . 




145 




(c) 


The supernatural elements . 




146 




lA) 


Characterization 




148 






(I) Macbeth . 




149 






(II) Lady Macbeth 




150 






(III) Banquo 




150 


Scheme for 


outline book 




151 


Topics for 


essays and discussion 



CONTENTS 



XI 



A STUDY OF HAMLET 
SIDELIGHTS 



Denmark made famous by Hamlet 


171 


(0 


Evolution of the play 


171 


I. 


The "Sphinx" .... 


171 


II. 


Points of interest about the play . 


173 


III. 


Length. Ghost . 


173 


IV. 


Ethical principles 


174 


V. 


Insanity .... 


175 


VI. 


National characteristics 


175 




The foreign element; Fortinbras 


175 


VII 


The Family Institution 


179 


(d) 


The contradictory Hamlet 


181 




Source of plot .... 


1S3 


(e) 


The play; basis .... 


184 


(f) 


Hamlet's position 


185 


Sch 


The conflict 


186 


Top 


Structure ..... 


187 




Questions and topics . . . . 


189 




Review: the play 


189 


(a) 


Characterization 




(b) 


(a) The Ghost .... 


190 


(c) 


Revelations of the Ghost 


192 


(d) 


(b) Horatio and the Ghost . 


192 





Hamlet in relation to other characters 

Hamlet and the Ghost • 

Hamlet and the King . 

Hamlet and his Mother 

Hamlet and Ophelia 

Hamlet and Polonius 

Hamlet and Rosencrantz and 
Guilderstern 

Hamlet and Horatio 
Hamlet 

Hamlet's insanity 
The King. Final grand tragedy 
Miscellaneous 
Scheme for outline book 
Topics for essays and discussion • 

Hamlet and Macbeth 

Comparative study 
The plays .... 
Hamlet and Macbeth, the men 
The King and Macbeth 
The Queen and Lady Macbeth 



A Small Shakespearean Library 

Index to the characters in Shakespeare's plays 

General Index ..... 



193 
193 
194 
196 
198 
200 

202 
204 
205 
206 
207 
209 
212 
213 

2l4 

214 
216 
216 

217 

219 
223 
253 



OUTLINE STUDIES 

IN THE 

SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 



ERRATA 

Page 20, line 2, read: London's first theatre. 

Page 25, line 2 from bottom, read: Edmund Malone. 

Page 73, table, read: Moral (Subjective). 

Page 102, Act II, Scene i, characters should be Portia and Morocco 
only. Bassanio enters middle of Scene 2. Jessica appears in Scenes 3,5, 
6, and not in 7. 

Page 182, last paragraph, line i, read: Reflective Hamlet instead of 
Intellectual. 

Page 183, last paragraph, line 25, should be Grammaticus. 

Page 194, line i, omit first The. 

Diagram facing page 81, Act V, Scene 2, read foil for toil. 



I 

INTRODUCTORY STUDY 



I 

The Drama 



The Drama is that form of literature which represents 
man in action ; the characters manifest themselves through 
their own words and deeds; we see them in the 
process of development; we see the motives 
prompting each act ; we see man receiving the reward or the 
penalty of his own act as a natural consequence of the act 
itself; if the deed is evil, we see it working out its own de- 
struction, and while we may feel sympathy for the indi- 
vidual, we rejoice in the ultimate destruction of the evil. 

The Drama shows man his own deed and its conse- 
quences in the form of the deed itself and its results; hence 
the Drama has truly been called the highest form of art, 
since it represents man, not in the cold pulseless marble of 
sculpture, nor in the artificial coloring of the canvas, but in 
the flesh and blood of actual life. Here we see the sub- 
jective conflicts of the passions of man worked out in the 
objective and often bloody conflicts of real life. 

All art has religious thought for its basis and the drama 
forms no exception to this general rule. The early dra- 
matic poetry of the Hindoos and Persians was 
"gin ^£ ^ religious nature, while the most perfect of 
the ancient dramas, the Greek, originated in religious fes- 
tivals. The religious element is instinctive in man ; he is 
distinguished from the brute by the endowment of a spirit- 

3 



4 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

ual nature. In the dim ages, with this religious force strug- 
gling within him, it was but natural that it should seek out- 
ward expression in the dramatic form. The mass of the 
church is really only a drama portraying the fall and re- 
demption of man. 

The history of fiction shows that intuitively, man likes 
to get a grasp on the whole of life at 'once; time is too slow 
for him : the history of the drama shows that he likes to see 
the life-problem worked out before his very eyes from be- 
ginning to end ; of this he never tires. This inborn ten- 
dency of man's religious nature, and his desire to see the 
life-problem worked out, show why the drama came to be, 
and why it has maintained itself through honor and through 
dishonor, during all the centuries. It is a necessity of man's 
nature. 

Man's nature is ethical, hence the true drama is ethical. 
It moves in the Ethical World and must be governed by its 
laws. We recognize the Ethical World as that spiritual and 
Ethics rnoral realm in which the moral forces of good and 
of the evil are arrayed against each other in constant con- 
Drama flict; objectively, we see this conflict going on all 
about us: we see avarice taking advantage of the weak and 
grinding the poor; subjectively, we realize in our own inner 
conflict that, "There is a law in our members that when we 
would do good, evil is present with us." The struggle in our 
own individual ethical world is often fierce and it is only by 
continually overcoming that we at last gain that victory 
which brings peace : in this conflict, we are sustained by the 
realization of the Divine Order as expressed in the tri-fold 
law of the Ethical World. "That the evil deed contains with- 
La^ in itself the elements of self-destruction; that "The 
of the deed returns upon the doer ;" that ultimately "Good 
Ethical triumphs over evil." "What Marlowe only vaguely 
World £g|^ — |.j^^^ |.j^g j^^j-Q ^^g ^j^g author of his own catas- 



THE ENGLISH DRAMA 5 

trophe, Shakespeare clearly perceived and distinctly ex- 
pressed."^ To get the real spirit of the drama, and more 
especially of the Shakespearean drama, these principles must 
constantly be kept in mind. 

Anciently, Nemesis was the goddess who kept things 
proportioned. If a man acquired an excess of property it 
was Nemesis' business to see that he suffered 
loss ; later she became the goddess of retribution. 
She crept into the art world and has become a favorite there. 
Moulton says that 'Tn ancient thought Nemesis was an ar- 
tistic bond between sin and retribution." That is, it is the 
simple principle that "Whatsoever a man soweth that shall 
he also reap." "He that soweth to his flesh shall of the 
flesh reap corruption." In other words, the fleshly deed 
contains within itself the elements of destruction and the 
evil doer suffers the penalty of his own deed. No more 
striking illustration of Nemesis can be given than the case 
of Shylock : hedged in at every turn by his own thought and 
word he is, Haman-like, hanged on his own gallows ; he be- 
comes the avenger of his own evil thought. If we would 
understand Shakespeare, the greatest of all dramatists, we 
must study his work in this light and not as a mere play- 
thing to amuse and while away the passing hour. 

The English Drama 

Hudson says that "the English Drama is not clearly 
traceable to any foreign source. It was an original inde- 
pendent growth. "t Still, it also was of ecclesiastical 
origin, having its rise in the mass of the church of the early 
centuries. Its original object was religious instruction. In 
its early days, there were almost no books ; the common 

*The Drama, Vol. XIII, page 54. 

fLife, Art and Characters, Vol. I, page 53. 



6 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

people could not read : the play was a device of the clergy 
for instructing them in Bible truths and stories. As the new 
birth of religious thought and emotion in the fifteenth and 
sixteenth centuries, gave rise to new forms and subjects in 
art as expressed in painting and music, so the same thought 
became the mainspring of the drama. 

The development of the modern English Drama may be 
traced through three quite distinct stages, although they 

naturally blend more or less into each other : the 
eve op ]y['j.^^jg ^j. Mystery-Play, the Morality-Play, 

and the Interlude. Originally, a distinction was 
made between Mystery-Plays and Miracle-Plays. The 
Mystery-Play portrayed Bible stories of the creation and 
fall of man through his redemption, etc., while the Miracle- 
Plays, probably of later date, were based upon the legends 
of saints, martyrs, etc. In England, however, one term 
usually sufficed for both. 

Mystery-Play 

These plays were based upon the idea of supernatural 
power. Snider thus summarizes their general characteristics 
and plan.* "The Mystery-Play seeks to give, in a religious 
frame-work, the entire history of man from the Creation 
till the Judgment Day, as it is presented in historic continu- 
ity by the Old and New Testaments. The Lord and the 
Devil are the two chief characters, who appear in person on 
the stage, and carry on their conflict. The Devil is comic in 
these old plays, so are all of his demons, cohorts, earthly 
representatives, such as Herod. To the simple minds of the 
people, the bad, in attempting to overthrow the good, is 
foolish, ludicrous, comic. Evil, in its complete circle, is self- 
destructive ; so our ancestors laughed at the devil, on the 
stage at least. It often required several days to give an en- 

*Tragedies, Introduction, page x. 



THE ENGLISH DRAMA 7 

tire Mystery, which is not so much one play, as a series of 
plays ; the Coventry Mystery, for example, is composed of 
forty-two plays, or, more properly, long dialogues. The 
dealings of Providence with his children are the great fact 
which is emphasized ; the side of divine order is presented 
overwhelmingly ; in it man is passive, or at best a child ; and 
future bliss is made the motive of this world's deed." 

In the Mystery-Plays no attempt was made to portray 
humanity, — only the spiritual conflict which man passes 
through, until finally redeemed. These plays 
Perform- were at first written by the clergy and performed 
^"^^ in abbeys or cathedrals ; soon they were taken 
^ up by companies and performed in the open air 

Play on staging, then on platforms on wheels, mov- 
ing from street to street and from town to town. 
For the performance of some mysteries, the cart had a se- 
ries of three platforms, one above the other : the upper one 
represented Heaven, the middle one Earth and the lower 
one Hell. Of course, God and his angels occupied Heaven ; 
the Devil and his demons occupied Hell, while poor hu- 
manity worked out its problems between the two, often in 
danger of being dragged into the bottomless pit through 
the yawning mouth of the dragon which formed the en- 
trance, and which emitted smoke and flame whenever oc- 
casion required. A gorgeous Heaven was the pride of the 
company ; one that could afford silk hangings and fruit 
bearing trees was considered truly fortunate. As we can 
readily imagine, when these plays got out of the hands of 
the clergy and were performed on the street as moving 
pageants, passing from square to square, their sacred 
character was in danger; still, however, the conditions of 
the times and the darkness from which the minds of the 
people had scarcely emerged, dulled the sensitive nature to 
what to us would be nothing more or less than absolute 



8 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

blasphemy ; they were not in the least shocked by the fol- 
lowing items in their accounts : 

Paid for a pair of gloves for God. 

Paid for gilding God's coat. 

Paid for keeping fyer at Hell's mouth llld. 

Soon, in order to relieve the dullness of the play, coarse 
jesting scenes were introduced. In The Deluge, Mrs. 
Noah is represented as a vixen who refuses to obey her 
husband, scolds him and has to be flogged; refusing to 
leave her gossiping friends to go into the ark, she is at last 
dragged through water up to her neck by her husband and 
sons and forced to enter. 

These plays were acted regularly at Christmas, Easter 
and at the Corpus Christi festivals. A curious specimen of 
the Corpus Christi play was discovered not long since 
^ in the library of the Trinity College in Dub- 

Play of ^i^ j -^ ^^ supposed to be as old as the reign 
the of Edward IV, which closed in 1483. Hudson 

Blessed gives the following description of it.* "It is 
Sacra- called the Play of the Blessed Sacrament and is 
founded on a miracle alleged to have been wrought 
in the forest of Arragon, in 1461. In form it closely resem- 
bles the miracle plays founded on Scripture, the Savior being 
one of the characters, the others being five Jews, a bishop, a 
priest, a merchant and a physician and his servant. The mer- 
chant having the key of the church, steals the Host and sells 
it to the Jews who promise to turn Christians in case they find 
its miraculous power verified. They put the Host to various 
tests. Being stabbed with their daggers, it bleeds, and one 
of the Jews goes mad at the sight. They next attempt 
nailing it to a post, when one of them has his hand torn off ; 
whereupon the physician and his man come in to dress the 

*Life, Art and Characters, page 57. 



THE ENGLISH DRAMA 9 

wound, but after a long comic scene, are driven out as 
quacks. The Jews proceed to boil the Host, but the water 
forthwith turns blood-red. Finally, they cast it into a heated 
oven, which presently bursts asunder, and an image of the 
Savior rises and addresses the Jews, who make good their 
promise upon the spot. The merchant confesses his theft, 
declares his repentance and is forgiven." 

The object of this play was to strengthen the people in 
the doctrine of the church, that the elements of the sacra- 
ment were converted into the actual body and blood of the 
Savior. (Transubstantiation.) 

Morality-Play 

Naturally, in time, humanity must assert itself, and by 
degrees allegorical personages came to be mixed up with 
Scriptural characters, enforcing moral lessons, until finally 
the whole play consists of the virtues and vices as abstract 
principles arrayed against each other ; in the conflict the vir- 
tues triumph over the vices in the end; the drama now be- 
comes ethical. 

The Devil was a favorite character in the Mysteries and 
was retained in the Moralities, while to strengthen the 
humorous element a character called the Vice was intro- 
duced. The Vice always accompanied the Devil ; the two 
bore a leading part in the play. The Devil was usually 
made as evil-looking as possible, with a hideous face, horns, 
hoofs and tail. The Vice followed him about the stage, tor- 
menting him in every possible way, striding his back, beat- 
ing him until he roared ; and the louder he roared the better 
pleased was the audience, until finally the Vice was carried 
off to Hell on the Devil's back. 

Ben Johnson, in his Staple of News, gives an imag- 
inary conversation between acts, in which he amusingly il- 
lustrates the interest centered in these characters. Fearing 



10 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

there may be no Vice in the play, at the end of the first act 
Gossip Tattle thus relieves her mind : *'My husband, Tim- 
othy Tattle, God rest his poor soul, was wont to say there 
was no play without a Fool and a Devil in it; he was for 
the Devil still, God bless him. The Devil for his money, he 
would say ; I would fain see the Devil." "But was the Devil 
a proper man?" was asked. Whereupon Gossip Mirth re- 
plies, "As fine a gentleman of his inches as ever I saw 
trusted to the stage or anywhere else; and loved the com- 
monwealth as well as ever a patriot of them all. He would 
carry away the Vice upon his back quickly to Hell wherever 
he came, and reform abuses." At the end of the second act, 
when asked, "How like you the Vice in the play?" Gossip 
Tattle complains, "But here is never a fiend to carry him 
away. Besides, he has never a wooden dagger. I would 
not give a rush for a Vice that has not a wooden dagger, to 
snap at everybody he meets." Mirth replies, "That was the 
old way. Gossip, when Iniquity came in like Hokus- 
Pokus in a juggler's jerkin, with false skirts, like the Knave 
of Clubs." 

It will readily be seen that the moral play must 
introduce entirely new features in the writing of a play; 
the story and characters must now be conceived, the plot 
originated. After a time historical characters were substi- 
tuted for abstract virtues, as, Aristides took the place of 
Justice ; then when the Reformation became of all absorb- 
ing interest, the play began to take sides politically: real 
characters were shown through various slight disguises, 
and instead of the old allegorical plays we see the begin- 
nings of a drama of power. Man is shown in his conflict 
with "the World, the Flesh, and the Devil;" he is shown to 
be a responsible being morally, and the individual is moved 
from within. The play deals with motives as well as with 
acts. The conflict portrayed is a moral one in which Vir- 



THE ENGLISH DRAMA 11 

tue always triumphs over Vice. But as Snider says, ''the 
moral play is a bloodless allegory, it takes the moral sub- 
stance by itself without sensible form." 

Everyman 

The Morality, Everyman, published in London about 
the year 1500, furnishes a fine illustration of this "bloodless 
allegory." The Dramatis Personse is in itself very sug- 
gestive : 

Messenger Knowledge 

God Confession 

Death Beauty 

Everyman Strength 

Fellowship Discretion 

Kindred Five Wits 

Cousin Angel 

Goods Doctor 
Good Deeds 

The play opens with a prologue by the Messenger, in 
which he announces the theme. 

"The summoning of Everyman called it is, 

For ye shall hear, how our Heaven King 
Calleth Everyman to a general reckoning." 

Then God appears and charges "all creatures" with being 
"drowned in sin." 

"They be so encumbered with worldly riches. 
That needs on them I must do justice." 

He then commands Death to go to Everyman and show him 
the pilgrimage which he must take. 

"Which he in no wise may escape." 

When Everyman receives the summons, he at once 
pleads unreadiness and begs for time ; but Death is inex- 
orable; then Everyman begins to cast about for company to 



12 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

help him on his journey; he in turn, calls upon Fellowship 
and Kindred, who at first give a ready consent, but when 
they learn that they are going upon a journey from which 
there is no returning, they forsake him. In his despair he 
recalls that, 

"All my life I have loved riches;" 

he now calls upon his Goods and Riches. Goods replies : 

"I lie here in corners trussed and piled so high, 
And in chests I am locked so fast, 
Also sacked in bags, thou mayest see with thine eye 
I cannot stir." 

Nevertheless Everyman tells him that he is sent for 

"To give a straight account general 
Before the Highest Jupiter of all," 

and he begs Goods to go with him, 

"For, peradventure, thou mayest before God Almighty 
My reckoning help to clean and purify." 

Goods informs him that 

"My condition is man's soul to kill^ 
If I save one, a thousand do I spill," 

and that it is only to Everyman's "damnation" that he has 
so loved Riches instead of giving part to the poor; with a 
derisive laugh, he then leaves the poor man to wail, 

"Oh, to whom shall I make my moan. 

For to go with me on that heavy journey?" 

At last he recalls his ''Good Deeds." 

"But, alas ! she is so weak." 

Good Deeds replies : 

"Here I lie in the cold ground; 
Thy sins have me so sore bound, 
That I cannot stir." 



THE ENGLISH DRAMA 13 

Good Deeds calls her sister Knowledge to their assist- 
ance ; she leads Everyman ''To Confession, that cleansing 
river." Confession gives him "a precious jewel called pen- 
ance." Through confession and penance Everyman gains 
absolution, and feels that he is now ready to go on his 
journey. By the advice of Good Deeds and Knowledge, 
Strength, Beauty, Discretion and Five Wits are now called 
in ; Five Wits advises that the blessed sacraments be admin- 
istered by the priest because 

"No remedy find we under God, 
But only priesthood." 

Everyman then receives the sacraments and is in haste 
to go ; overcome with weakness he exclaims, 

"Friends, let me not turn again to this land, 

Not for all the world's gold; 

For into this cave must I creep. 

And turn to the earth, and there to sleep." 

Whereupon Discretion, Strength, Beauty and Five Wits 
desert him ; Knowledge waits to see him depart. He now 
commends his soul to God and passes on, accompanied by 
Good Deeds only. An Angel sings a song of welcome "into 
the heavenly sphere ;" the Doctor pronounces the epilogue 
in which he charges all to bear in mind "that all at last do 
Everyman forsake, save his Good Deeds : (them he) there 
doth take."* 

The Interlude 

Man naturally craves things tangible, and about the 
first of the 16th century the drama begins to take on a new 

*This old Morality has recently been revived, republished, and 
again put upon the stage in London; it has also received a hearty 
welcome in the United States, where it has been presented in the 
larger universities and cities. 



14 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

form. This form had its origin in the natural desire for 
amusement. Short farces were introduced between the 
acts of the Miracle and Morality plays for the entertain- 
ment of the audience, and were also acted in the intervals of 
a banquet. This custom gave the term "Interlude" to these 
amusing pieces. John Hey wood, jester of Henry VIH, 
seems to be the first to develop this idea into a complete 
drama. His characters were no longer qualities of mi4id 
or morals, but were taken from real life, they were given the 
names of men and women, but the Vice^ who seemed quite 
indispensible, was retained as a personage. 

Perhaps his most famous production was the Four P's, 

designed to illustrate the wit and manners of the times : a 

Palmer, a Pardner, a Poticary, and a Pedlar 

^ „, have a discussion as to who can practice the 
Four P's ^ 

greatest frauds upon the credulous or the ignor- 
ant, and finally lay a wager as to who can tell the greatest 
lie. The Palmer says he never saw a woman out of tem- 
per; of course he is pronounced the greatest liar of all. 
At this time the influence of the Reformation was begin- 
ning to be felt in England and reverence for the Roman 
Church was weakening, so we must not be surprised to hear 
the Pardner say 

"1 say yet again, my pardons are such, 

That if there were a thousand souls upon a heap, 

I would bring them all to heaven as good sheep, 

With small cost without any pain, 

These pardons bring them to heaven plain : 

Give me but a penny or two-pence, 

And as soon as the soul departeth hence, 

In half an hour, or three-quarters at most 

The soul is in heaven with the Holy Ghost." 

He displays many relics, calling attention to one in the 
following language : 



THE ENGLISH DRAMA IS 

"Nay, sirs, here may ye see 

The great toe of the Trinity; 

Who to this toe any money voweth 

And once may roll it in his mouth, 

All his life after I undertake 

He shall never be vexed with the toothache." 

To which the Poticary replies, 

"I pray you turn that relic about ; 

Either the Trinity had the gout, 

Or else, because it is three toes in one, 

God made it as much as three toes alone." 

As may readily be seen, amusement was the sole object 
of the Interlude. The element of instruction, either spiritual 
or moral, has dropped out, Vice is enjoyed as much as Vir- 
tue, nay, oftentimes more. When the play has lost Hs 
ethical element, we must expect it to descend to a coarse- 
ness unendurable to the refined mind. 

Summary 

For convenience, the chief points in these stages of the 
development of the English Drama may be briefly summar- 
ized, as follows : 

The Mystery-Play portrays the conflict between Good and 
Evil as abstract principles. The conflict is spiritual, Good 
triumphs in the end. The object is instruction in Bible 
stories and the principles of religion, and to cultivate the 
spiritual nature in man. 

The Morality-Play portrays the strife between the moral 
forces in man. Good triumphs over the Evil. The pri- 
mary object is instruction, and to cultivate the moral nature 
in man. 

The Interlude is decidedly human, it portrays the follies 
and passions of man in action, the element of instruction 
drops out. Amusement is the sole object, it matters not 
whether Vice or Virtue triumphs. 



16 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

The Modern Drama 

The true drama must reveal the divine order as shown 
in the Mystery-Play, it must show the moral germ in the 
individual, as in the Morality-Play, it must show the purely 
human side of life, as in the Interlude. 

Comedy 

It can readily be seen that from the Interlude to Comedy 
proper is but a step. In 1551 appeared a genuine comedy in 
five acts, divided into scenes. The play was en- 
Ralph titled Ralph Roister Bolster, and was written 

„ . by Nicholas Udall, an educated man, at one 
Doister ^ ' . ' . 

time head master of Westminster School. His 
name is distinguished in the literature of his time. The 
names of the characters in this play still show traces of the 
Morality. 

The hero and heroine are Ralph and a widow. Dame 
Custance; Ralph's friend, Matthew Merrygreek, plays an 
important part; minor characters are Trupenny, Madge 
Mumblecrust, Talkapace, Alyface, Good Luck, etc. Ralph 
is desparately in love with the widow ; writes her letters 
which she returns. Matthew Merrygreek, evidently the Vice 
of the play, full of fun and merry mischief, plays the go-be- 
tween and at last succeeds in getting the widow to listen 
to the following letter written by Ralph: 

"Now by these presents I do you advertise 

That I am minded to marry you, in no wise 

For your goods and substance ; I could be content 

To take you as ye are; if ye mind to be my wife, 

Ye shall be assured for the time of my life, 

I will keep ye right well : from good rainment and fare 

Ye shall not be kept; but in sorrow and care 

Ye shall in no wise live; at your own liberty, 

Do and say what ye lust; ye shall never please me 

But when ye are merry; I will be sad 



THE ENGLISH DRAMA 17 

~^— When ye are sorry; I will be very glad 

When ye seek your heart's ease ; I will be unkind 
At no time; in me shall ye much gentleness find." 

The merry and fun-loving Matthew saw in the writing 
a temptation which he was unable to withstand, and this 
is what the fascinating widow listened to: 

"Now by these presents I do you advertise 

That I am minded to marry you in no wise. 

For your goods and substance I could be content 

To take ye as you are. If ye mind to be my wife, 

Ye shall be assured, for the time of my life 

I will keep ye right well from good rainment and fare; 

Ye shall not be kept but in sorrow and care. 

Ye shall in no wise live at your own liberty; 

Do and say what ye lust, ye shall never please me; 

But when ye are merry, I will be all sad; 

When ye are sorry, I will be very glad; 

When ye seek your heart's ease I will be unkind; 

At no time in me shall ye much gentleness find." 

It is needless to say that Ralph does not win the widow. 
She marries another suitor, Good Luck, by name. The 
merit of this comedy marks the progress in the development 
of the drama. 

Tragedy 

Tragedy soon follows in the play G orb o due or 
Ferrex and Porrex, which was played before Queen 
Gor- Elizabeth in 1562. Gorboduc, King of Great 
boduc Britain 500 B. C., divides his kingdom be- 
tween his two sons, Ferrex and Porrex. A quarrel ensues, 
Porrex kills Ferrex; the mother avenges his death by kill- 
ing Porrex in his sleep ; war follows, the country is wasted 
and the kingdom left without a head. The play was writ- 
ten, at least in part, by Thomas Sackville, 1562 ; as a work 
of dramatic art, it is less faithful to real life than Udall's 



18 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

comedy, but still we see that the drama is working up to its 

modern form. 

Crudity of the Drama 

It however lacked the unity and artistic finish which was 
left for Shakespeare's keen dramatic perception to bring 
forth. Sir Philip Sidney, who died in 1586, in his Defense of 
Poetry says : ''Our Tragedies and Comedies are not without 
cause cried out against, observing rules neither of honest civ- 
ility nor skillful poetry. You shall have Asia of the one side 
and Arfic of the other, and so many under-kingdoms that 
the player, when he comes in must ever begin with telling 
where he is, or else the tale will not be conceived. Now 
you shall have three ladies walk to gather flowers, and then 
we must believe the stage to be a garden ; by and by we 
hear news of a shipwreck in the same place ; then we are to 
blame if we accept it not for a rock. Upon the back of 
that, comes out a hideous monster with fire and smoke, and 
then the miserable beholders are bound to take it for a cave ; 
while in the meantime two armies fly in, represented with four 
swords and bucklers and then what hard heart yet will not 
receive it for a pitched field? Now of time they are much 
more liberal. But besides these gross absurdities, all their 
plays be neither right tragedies nor right comedies, ming- 
ling kings and clowns not because the matter so carried it, 
but thrust in the clown by head and shoulders, to play a 
part in majestical matters with neither decency nor discre- 
tion." This statement not only shows the crude state of the 
drama quite up to Shakespeare's time, but also gives some 
idea of the crudity of the stage itself, the lack of anything 
like scenery and of all the modern helps to the interpreta- 
tion of a play. Sir Philip's keen perception of the faults of 
the drama was almost prophetic of the wonderful order 
which was soon to be brought out of this chaos, but how 
little he dreamed how soon. 



THE THEATRE IN SHAKESPEARE'S TIME 19 



II 

Shakespeare and the Shakespearean Drama 
The Theatre in Shakespeare's Time. 

The presentation of the Mystery and Morality plays in- 
side and outside of chapels and cathedrals, and their street 
wanderings has been spoken of. As the plays for amuse- 
ment became more popular, strolling bands of actors went 
about and played before courts or in the palaces of the no- 
bility, especially during the Lenten season when they were 
not allowed to play in the larger cities and towns. Choir 
boys and the young people of the Guilds gave amateur 
performances in public halls, which, if we may trust Ham- 
let, caused some jealousy among the professional actors. 
Finally nearly every court had its "Master of Revels." 

As the Reformation began to take root in England, 
the church began to look somewhat doubtfully upon dra- 
£(^g^,f matic performances, and finally Parliament for- 
of the bade Miracle-Plays lest something might be pre- 
Refor- sented which would conflict with the doctrines 
mation q£ ^j^^ church ; Moral-Plays, however, were per- 
mitted, and one can readily see that this tended to secularize 
the drama, and with the change in religious thought, espe- 
cially with the development of Puritanism, came a change 
in the attitude of the authorities towards amusements in 
general, and while Elizabeth, in 1574, granted a permit to 
"Lord Leicester's Servants" to play anywhere for the 
amusement of herself or her lieges, they were not permitted 
to play without the Lord Mayor's especial permit for every 
individual performance. Under these increasing restric- 
tions we can see that play-wrights and actors were almost 
driven to take some steps towards greater independence. 



20 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

The play must have a house of its own, and in 1576 

according to Halliwell the first theatre, called The 

Theatre, was built. The Curtain was built soon 

„ ., after, and others followed in rapid succession. 

riuiJt , . ^ 

To escape restrictions, they were all located 
without the city corporation, on the marshy ground on the 
south side of the Thames but easily accessible from the city 
itself. Blackfriars, where many of Shakespeare's plays were 
first presented, was built not earlier than 1596, while the 
Globe was built in 1599 from the material of The The- 
atre, which had to be torn down. This was known as 
Shakespeare's theatre, since he was a large share owner, 
and had control of it; it was doubtless built for him, we 
always think of it as his theatrical home. In the immediate 
vicinity of the theatres were located all sorts of questionable 
places of amusement and disreputable houses; Brandes tells 
us that "close to the Globe Theatre lay the bear garden, the 
rank smell of which greeted the nostrils even before it came 
in sight. The famous bear, Sackerson, mentioned in the 
Merry Wives of Windsor, now and then broke his chain 
and put the female theatre goers shrieking with fright." 

Notwithstanding all of these disadvantages, the theatre 
grew to be immensely popular and was patronized by all 
classes of people, from the nobility down to the "ground- 
lings," who paid a penny for standing room in the pit. 
Elizabeth, who was very fond of the play, did not go to the 
public theatres but had her own court entertainments in the 
palace. During Shakespeare's own time the London the- 
atres had increased to twelve or thirteen in number, but 
these were not all open at the same time, some only in sum- 
mer, others in winter, some in the evening, the majority 
only in the day-time. 

Theatres were of two classes, pubHc and private, but the 
term did not at all imply an exclusive audience, any 



THE THEATRE IN SHAKESPEARE'S TIME 21 

rp^^j nobleman could hire any theatre for his own players 
Classes to perform in. The chief difference was one of con- 
of struction, the public theatre being on the old Inn-yard 

Theatres pj^j^^ -(-j^g j-Qof covering only the stage, or at most ex- 
tending over the scaffolding at the sides which thus provided 
for high priced seats. The pit was entirely exposed to sun and 
weather, the floor was simply the hard earth, which gave rise 
to the term, "groundlings ;" these theatres could only be used 
in summer and in the daytime. The private theatres were 
entirely enclosed and afforded entertainment in the even- 
ings and in winter; Blackfriars was private, but the Globe 
was public. This was the plainest kind of structure, oc- 
tagonal in form with the smallest kind of windows. The 
performance began promptly at three o'clock and lasted 
Perform- without interruption from two to three hours, 
ance Black hangings on the stage indicated tragedy, 
of a blue hangings, comedy. There were no actresses 
^'^y in those days, boys acted the parts of women; 
women themselves did not appear on the stage until 
after the Restoration. Respectable women in the au- 
dience wore masks, only the wealthy could afford seats 
in the boxes or little appartments at the side of the 
stage; while the more favored occupied places on the stage 
itself, seated on stools* or chairs, or reclining on the rush 
covered floor over which they had spread their cloaks ; here 
might be seen nobles, fops, and upstarts, also rival actors 
and dramatists to whom the courtesy of the profession al- 
lowed free admission ; even this favored class talked, 
smoked, and drank, through the performance, guyed the 
actors, who had to work their way through the crowd to get 



*In Beaumont and Fletcher's "The Knight of the Burning 
Pestle," a citizen and his wife have stools on the stage ; they assume 
in part, to direct the play which is constantly interrupted by their 
conversation. 



22 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

to their places on the stage; and still Shakespeare's char- 
acters never smoke and the habit of smoking is nowhere al- 
luded to in his plays. The groundlings in the pit played 
cards, smoked, drank beer, cracked nuts, ate apples, often 
throwing them at the more favored occupants of the stage. 
Of real scenery there w^as none. The beginning of 
the performance was announced by the bugle ; at the third 
Lack of blast the curtain parted, disclosing a barren stage 
Scenery hung with a tapestry at the back, which served year 
in and year out, being patched in a rough way when 
necessary, or the rents hidden by rude pictures. A day 
scene was indicated by a light blue flag hanging from the 
roof which was exchanged for a darker one to indicate 
night ; a table with pen and ink constituted a counting room ; 
two chairs, and the scene changed to an inn ; a bed pushed 
forward and behold ! a sleeping apartment. We can thus 
see that the audience must depend entirely upon the acting 
for the bringing out of the play, in fact the acting was 
everything and so was in danger of being overdone. Shakes- 
peare evidently gives his own idea of a correct performance 
in Hamlet's instructions to the players. Inigo Jones, who 
died in 1562, was the first to introduce movable scenery. 
That Shakespeare had higher conceptions of what the stage 
should be, is evidenced in the prologue to Henry V where 
he apologizes for the lack which he feels. 

"Pardon, gentles all, 

The flat unraised spirit that hath dared 

On this unworthy scaffold to bring forth 

So great an object: can this cockpit hold 

The vastly fields of France? 

Let us, ciphers to this great accompt 

On your imaginary forces work. 

Suppose within the girdles of these walls 

Are now confined two mighty monarchies." 

Some improvements were made in stage settings during 



SHAKESPEARE'S SENIOR CONTEMPORARIES 23 

the latter part of Shakespeare's time, but we fancy he would 
scarcely recognize his own plays in their gorgeous settings 
of to-day.* 

Shakespeare's Senior Contemporaries 

The three dramatists aside from Shakespeare, who had 
most to do with bringing order out of this confusion, were 
George Peele, Robert Greene and Christopher Marlowe. 
These were all university men. Peele took an Oxford de- 
gree in 1577, Greene boasted of a Cambridge degree in 
1578 and one from Oxford in 1588. Marlowe took Cam- 
bridge degrees in 1583-1587. Space forbids any review of 
the works of these writers. 

Peele contributed but little of real value to the drama, 
if we except his first production. "The Arraignment of 
Paris:' He was a poet rather than an artistic 
dramatist and we may say that his chief contri- 
bution to the drama was poetry. He lived a profligate life 
of debauchery and riot. Greene wrote a number of plays of 
more or less merit, but none great enough to 

Crrccnc 

survive Shakespeare ; he also lived a profligate 
life and in 1592 died in a most wretched condition. 

Under the touch of Marlowe's genius, the drama began 
to assume the form which was so soon to be brought to such 
perfection by Shakespeare. In his Edward II 
we get a breath of Shakespeare's Eiglish histor- 
ical plays : his Faustus rises to the heroic ; it is said that 
Goethe in his admiration of it exclaimed, "How greatly it is 
all planned !" By some, Marlowe is considered to be "the 
first of the English dramatists to understand that thought 
and expression should be in harmony. 'f 

*For fine pictorial illustrations, we would refer the student to 
Shakespeare: Poet, Dramatist and Man, by Hamilton W. Mabie. 
f See quotation from "The Drama" on page 4. 



24 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

His genius was so great, that it is to be regretted that 
the man in him was not great enough to rise above the vol- 
uptuousness and infideHty of his environments. His tragic 
death occurred before his thirtieth birthday, hence his work 
seems ahriost that of a prodigy. 

Thus was the dramatic soil of England cultivated, and 
made rich and mellow for the growth of Shakespeare's mar- 
velous genius, a genius which was all his own. 

Shakespeare 

All literature must in a certain sense reflect the age in 
which it is produced : Taine says : ''This great age alone 
could have cradled such a child." Dowden says of Shakes- 
peare, "If he became the most learned man of all genera- 
tions, in one department the lore of passions, it was not be- 
cause he was of this age or that." ''Rare old Ben Jonson" 
immortalized himself more than he did his friend when he 
said, "Shakespeare was not of an age, but for all time." 

Strange indeed it seems that this man who has given the 
world the most marvelous revelations of the thoughts and 
Shakes- intents of men, made no effort to record his own 
peare no personal life. Not one letter of his own writing has 
autobi- been found and only one written to him. It would 
ographer ^^^^^-^ ^g though this great soul, while revealing to 
men their own souls, was oblivious of its own greatness. 

In giving the absolutely known facts of Shakespeare's 
life gathered from records, it should be borne in mind that 
Scarcity ^^^^ actual records of the lives of private individuals 
of are always few, even in our own day ; and Shakes- 

Records peare was only a private individual ; he was never 
engaged in affairs of Church or of State ; he was in 
mature life simply an actor, a theatrical manager and a play- 
wright : he belonged to a profession which was frowned 
upon by a very large and constantly increasing branch of the 



SHAKESPEARE 25 

church— the Puritans ; a ban was laid upon the theatres and 
they must be built without the pale of the city of London. 

Notwithstanding the apparent scarcity of reliable mater- 
£^j.j ial, the biographers of Shakespeare are legion ; it 
Biog- will serve our purpose to here mention a few of the 
raphers earliest and latest of the great number. 

John Aubrey, an English antiquary, who was exceed- 
ingly fond of hunting up old books, curious legends, tra- 
John ditions, etc., visited Stratford probably about 1680, 

Aubrey, to collect material for a sketch of Shakespeare for 
1626-1697 his "Lives of Eminent Men." His chief source of 
information is said to be William Beeston, an aged actor, who 
died in 1G82. Aubrey has been called an Arch-gossip, 
but while considered very unreliable, later research has con- 
firmed many of his statements. 

In 1709, ninety-three years after Shakespeare's death, 
Nicholas Rowe, dramatist, poet and translator, published 
Nicholas ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ biography of the great dramatist;"^ 
Rowe, this consisted in great measure of traditions gath- 
1673-1718 ered by Betterton, a famous actor of Shakes- 
peare's plays, who visited Stratford for the express 
purpose of learning all of fact or fancy that he could 
concerning his great master. Betterton lived from 
1635 to 1710, close to Shakespeare's time ; Judith Quincy, 
Shakespeare's younger daughter, lived until 1662, and Lady 
Barnard (Elizabeth Hall) his granddaughter, until 1670. 
Betterton was an actor in the theater of which Sir William 
Devenant was manager, who, in his youth knew Shakes- 
peare personally. 

Mr. Edw^ard Malone, a highly cultured and scholarly 
man and a very careful and industrious Shakespearean stu- 

*Edited Shakespeare in 1709. 



26 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

Edmond dent, thoroughly investigated all public and pri- 
Malone vate records of Stratford and official papers pre- 
1741-1812 served in London offices, and thereby not only 
brought to light much valuable matter concerning Shakes- 
peare and his family, but also exposed forgeries which had 
been foistered upon an over-credulous public. These consti- 
tute the principal earlier sources of information. 

It has been left for our own age to do a more valuable 
work than has hitherto been accomplished. Mr. James Or- 
j. o. chard Halliwell-Phillipps, an English antiquarian 

Halliwell- and famous Shakespearean scholar, through his 
Philhpps, indefatigable research and labor, has laid all lovers 
I 20-1 9 ^£ ^j^^ World- Poet under lasting obligations. 
The latest edition of his Outlines of the Life of Shakes- 
peare consists of a thousand pages, and contains a reprint 
of all the extant archives and legal documents which throw 
light upon the great dramatist's career. 

And now as though this were not enough, another very 
patient and devoted Shakespearean student, Mr. Sidney 
Mr. Lee, tells us that he has carefully gone over the en- 
Sidney tire ground of former research; he has thoroughly 
^^ investigated all obtainable records, both public and 

private ; he has sifted former biographies ; he has studied 
the conditions and modes of thought of the times in which 
Shakespeare lived, and the result is a new Life of Shakes- 
peare (1898) ; a modest book of only 445 pages including 
the appendix, which contains much valuable matter. Air. 
Lee brings to his work the spirit of interested, but perfectly 
honest investigation, and writes his story in a candid unim- 
passioned manner that may be considered entirely trust- 
worthy. His book is the biography for fact with but little 
of embellishment; from it the material for this brief sketch 
has been largely gleaned. 

In 1900 Mr. Hamilton Wright Mabie, a charming writer 



SHAKESPEARE 27 

of our own country, published a most delightful story of 
j^j. Shakespeare; Poet, Dramatist and Man. To be- 

Hamiltongin to read it means to finish it. We must ever be 
Wright grateful to Mr. Mabie for securing the many in- 
Mabie teresting and valuable photographs which make his 
book so realistic. 

From the evidence of those who have searched the rec- 
ords, the following items may be relied upon as a basis of 
Facts fact upon which to construct a sketch of the life of 
from our William Shakespeare. 

Records Baptised in Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire^ 
England, April 36, 1564. 

Parents, John and Mary Arden Shakespeare. 

Attended Grammar School in Stratford, 1571 ( ?) — 
1577 (?): 

Bond against impediments of marriage to Anne Hath- 
away, given by Funk Sandells and John Richardson, 1582. 

Susanna, daughter of WilHam and Anne Hathaway 
Shakespeare, baptised May 26, 1583. 

Hamnet and Judith, twins, son and daughter of William 
and Anne Shakespeare, baptised Feb. 2, 1585. 

From 1585 to 1596 only one mention of his name occurs 
in the Stratford records ; this is in connection with a mort- 
gage of Asbies, a property in which he had an interest. 

Left Stratford and drifted to London 1586 ( ?) . 

Soon associated with Richard Field, a native of Strat- 
ford, as author and publisher. 

In December, 1594, was a member of a most influential 
company of players, originally licensed as "Earl of Leices- 
ter's Company," promoted to "The King's Players" in 1603. 
In May, 1603, he was one of its leaders. Under the auspices 
of this company, Shakespeare's plays were first presented to 
the public. 

In 1599 the Globe theater was built on the Bankside, 



28 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

Southwark, and was occupied by Shakespeare's company 
until his retirement. He was a shareowner in the profits of 
this theater. In 1609-10 his company also played in Black- 
friars. 

Shakespeare's company played in many important towns 
in England. Mr. Lee gives an itinerary from 1593 to 1614. 

He began to write plays about 1591 and continued to do 
so for about twenty years. 

1593. Venus and Adonis published. 

1597. May 4, purchased new palace, Stratford. 

From that time onward continued to buy valuable prop- 
erty in and about Stratford. 

1605. Paid 440i for unexpired term of tithes. 

1599. Obtained Coat of Arms. 

1613. Purchased property in London. 

Spent his last years in Stratford. 

Signed his will March, 1616. 

Died April 23, (O. S.), 1616. 

Buried in the Church of the Holy Trinity, Stratford, 
near the north wall of the chancel, April 25, 1616. 

When these dry bones of fact are jointed together, 
rounded out and clothed with the flesh and blood of legend, 
tradition, ancestry, environment, the customs and modes of 
thought of the times ; and the great dramatist himself has 
breathed into the body the breath of life, we can but feel 
that Mr. Corson is justifiable in saying that we really do 
know a great deal about Shakespeare. The marvel is — ^not 
that we know so little, but that we know so much about the 
real man. 

A noted EngHsh poet, Michael Drayton (1563-1631), a 
native of Warwickshire and a personal friend of Shakes- 
Environ- peare, styled Warwickshire "the heart of England." 
ment of Through this ''heart" flows the Avon, where reposes 
Nature ^j^ Stratford, as peaceful as the gentle river made 
so memorable bv her famous Bard. 



SHAKESPEARE 29 

Mr. Hamilton Mabie says "The charm of Stratford-on- 
Avon is two-fold ; it is enfolded by some of the loveliest and 
most characteristic scenery, and it is the home of the great- 
est English literary tradition." 

Mr. William Winter says, "The luxuriance of the coun- 
try — its fertile fields, its brilliant foliage, its myriads of wild 
flowers, its pomp of color, and of physical vigor and bloom, 
do not fail to announce to every mind, how-so-ever heedless, 
that this is a fit place for the birth and nurture of a great 
man."* 

In the niidst of this wealth of nature, William Shakes- 
peare was born, presumably on April 23 (O. S), 1564; by 
g. , inference, as by custom the rite of baptism was ad- 
ministered on the third day after birth. Notwith- 
standing the room in which the great poet first saw the light 
is rhown to visitors, it is not definitely known in which of 
the two Henley Street houses the important event actually 
occurred. 

Shakespeare was a very common name in Warwickshire. 
Mr. Lee tells us that "The archives of no less than twenty- 
The four towns and villages there contain notices of 
Name Shakespeare families in the sixteenth century, and 
as many as thirty-four Warwickshire towns or villages were 
inhabited by Shakespeare families in the seventeenth cen- 
tury. Among them all, William was a common Christian 
name." 

He also tells us that "the name of the Poet's father 
Spelling is entered sixty-six times in the council books of 
of the Stratford and is spelt in sixteen ways : the com- 
Name monest form is Shaxpeare ;" also that "the name has 
been proved capable of four thousand variations;" he 



^Shakespeare's England. 



30 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

further states that of the three signatures to the Poet's will, 
the first two have faded almost beyond recognition, but that 
the third is Shakespeare; also that the dedicatory epistles 
to Venus and Adonis and Lucrece are signed Shakespeare 
by the author himself. 

There is every reason to believe that Shakespeare's an- 
cestors for several generations were good, substantial yeo- 
. men, well-to-do land owners; it is not strange that 

among so many Warwickshire Shakespeares, so 
many Richards, Johns. Williams, etc., his lineage cannot be 
traced with absolute certainty. There is no doubt that his 
„ , father was John Shakespeare, who came to Stratford 

from Snitterfield about 1551. According to tradition, 
he was engaged in various kinds of trades and business, and 
in early life was very prosperous ; he bought the Henley 
street property and another with "garden and croft""^ He 
was a highly respected citizen, and at various times filled 
nearly all the offices of the town; later, a turn in the tide of 
his affairs brought great pecuniary embarrassment. 

His wife, Mary Arden, was the daughter of a wealthy 
farmer of Wilmcote, a nearby parish; her family was one 
The of the oldest and most highly respected in War- 
Poet's wickshire; it is said that she could trace her lineage 
Mother ^a^^j^ fQj- gix centuries. At her father's death she 
came in possession of a handsome property. Very little is 
known of the personality of Mary Arden Shakespeare; her 
death on September 9, 1608, is recorded in the parish reg- 
ister ; it is pleasant to think that she lived to realize that her 
son William was on the high road to honor and success ; we 
feel that she was a beautiful type of pure, sweet woman- 
hood; surely, no one had higher ideals of women than her 
illustrious son ; it is scarcely a stretch of the imagination 

*A small enclosed field. 



SHAKESPEARE 31 

to fancy that Hamlet's ideal mother was none other than 
Mary Arden, and that Brutus' Portia might have been the 
wife of John Shakespeare; somewhere in Shakespeare's 
life must have come the woman almost to be reverenced. 

Two sisters, dying in infancy, left William the oldest 
of four brothers and one sister, Gilbert, Richard, 

^ ^ Edmond and Joan ; another sister, Anne, died at the 
age of seven. 

Of Shakespeare's boyhood but little is really known; 
there is abundant evidence that he had at least a fair educa- 
Boyhood tion for those times when men prominent in public 
and Ed- affairs so frequently had to make their mark 
ucation ^j-^en signing public documents. He attended the 
grammar school of Stratford, probably from about seven to 
fourteen years of age, when the father's failing fortunes 
made it necessary for the boy to leave school in order to 
assist in the support of the family. 

The quality of this grammar school is known ; the chief 
instruction was in Latin and Hterature ; the method was 
such that bright boys acquired a fair knowledge of many 
Latin authors, and we may well fancy that the brilliant mind 
of William Shakespeare let nothing slip. 

His education was by no means confined to his ''school- 
ing." In 1568, when he was but four years of age, his 
Dramatic ^^t^^^' serving as baiHff and chief alderman, wel- 
Atmos- comed to Stratford the actors of the Earl of Wor- 
phere of cester's company and of the Queen's company. The 
Stratford p^opi^ of Stratford seemed to be lovers of the 
_drama, and it is said that they enjoyed frequent visits from 
the traveling companies of actors ; the town was small and 
the coming of the players would be looked forward to and 
talked about with great interest; this naturally created 
quite a dramatic atmosphere about the wide-awake growing 
boy. 



32 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

Kenilworth, the residence of the Queen's favorite, the 
Earle of Leicester, was only fifteen miles distant ; what more 
natural than for John Shakespeare to take his bright boy of 
eleven to witness the open air festivities, the pageants, the 
masques, etc., which were given to entertain Elizabeth dur- 
ing her visit to the castle in July, 1575 ; some have thought 
that they could detect traces of these fantastic gaieties inThe 
Midsummer Night's Dream. (11-2). 

Shakespeare's dramas give abundant evidence that his 
boyish eyes were ever open to the richness and beauty of his 
Environ- natural surroundings ; he knew by name and habit, 
ment of every plant and animal that adorned and animated 
Nature his native town and surrounding country; he was 
thoroughly familiar with all of the games and sports of Eng- 
lish youth and manhood : his writings all bear undeniable 
testimony to the fact that everything which came into the 
life of the developing youth was educating; nothing escaped 
his keen observation. 

He grew up in a time when the Bible was the all absorb- 
ing book of the sober-minded; he undoubtedly acquired a 
Know!- g'^G^.t deal of familiarity with it by a kind of absorp- 
edge tion, enough to attract him to it as a field of study 
of the in maturity, as his writings abundantly show ;* this 
Bible. i^y j^Q means implies that he was especially relig- 
iously inclined. 

He speaks unadvisedly, who writes Shakespeare down as 
uneducated, because his education was largely obtained in 
the broad university of nature and of human nature; no 
other school could have endowed him so perfectly with the 
ability to read and to touch the human mind and soul 
through all the ages as long as the heart of humanity throbs. 

Of his youthful pranks we have no reliable evidence ; no 

*See The Bible in Shakespeare by William Burgess. (1903) 



SHAKESPEARE 33 

doubt they were as numerous as those of the average bright, 
The active lad, but few have come down to us and they 
Poaching are merely recorded legends. We are indebted to 
Legend Rqwc for the well known poaching story. He says 
that "Shakespeare fell into the company of some wild fel- 
lows who were in the habit of stealing deer, and who drew 
him into robbing a park owned by Sir Thomas Lucy of 
Charlecote, Stratford; being prosecuted for this, he lam- 
pooned Sir Thomas in some bitter verses which made the 
Knight so sharp after him that he had to steal off and take 
shelter in London." These verses have not been found, not- 
withstanding the humorous lines quoted by some biogra- 
phers beginning, 

A parliament member, a justice of peace, 
At home a poore scarecrowe, in London an asse, 
If Lucy is Lowsie, as some volke miscall it, 
Synge Lowsie Lucy, whatever befall it." 

Mr. Lee says "No authenticity can be allowed the worth- 
less lines beginning 'A parliament member, etc' " We are 
also told that "The record of the names of them that made 
riot upon Sir Thomas Lucy, Esq., fails to reveal any Shakes- 
peare." Many credit the story, many do not. There was a 
law of Parliament against deer-stealing, with penalty at- 
tached, and it is stated that after his premises were invaded, 
Sir Thomas had still more stringent poaching laws enacted. 
However, in those days poaching was considered more in 
the light of a lawless sport than a flagrant crime, as is evi- 
denced from the fact that it was of such common occurrence. 
Even could the legend be proved to be fact, it could scarcely 
be written down against the culprit's character in riper 
years: he was doubtless guilty of boyish indiscretions, (who 
can plead "not guilty?") otherwise he would not have been 
the perfectly natural character which he depicts. We only 
waste words over these idle, though possibly credible tales; 



34 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

what should concern us is, not, "did he never fall," but "how 
did he overcome ?" What is the product of his years of dis- 
cretion? Most truly Dowden says "In the characters of the 
weak or the wicked whom he condemns, Shakespeare denies 
no beautiful or tender trait." Surely the tolerance and char- 
ity which he everywhere shows towards all of his characters 
should be a mantle large enough to cover his own youthful 
shortcomings. 

That Shakespeare early lost his heart, is evidenced by the 
fact of his marriage before he was nineteen years of age, to 

-. . Anne Hathaway of Shottery, a nearby hamlet; she 
Marriage •' ... 

died in August, 1623, and the inscription on her 

tombstone states that she was "aged sixty-seven years," 
which would make her eight years older than her husband. 
Romance hovers over the Anne Hathaway cottage and the 
foot path winding through meadows that were flower gar- 
dens, or overhung by the white blooming chestnut, which 
young William followed from Stratford to Shottery. Very 
little is known of the personality of Anne Hathaway Shakes- 
peare ; her father seems to have been a well-to-do yeoman 
who died shortly before this daughter's marriage, leaving a 
will in which the widow^ and all of the seven children were 
remembered; everything actually known indicates that the 
Hathaways were good, respectable people and on the most 
friendly terms with the Shakespeares. 

The parish register records the baptism of Susanna, 
daughter of William and Anne Shakespeare, 26th May, 

^, .,, 1583. The other children of the marriage were 
Children ^ 

Hamnet and Judith, twins, christened February 2, 
1585. Hamnet died eleven years later. Susanna was mar- 
ried to Dr. John Hall, June 5, 1607 ; the following year the 
poet's only granddaughter, Elizabeth Hall, was born. On 
February 10, 1616 Judith married Thomas Quiney, a wine 
merchant of Stratford, who was four years younger than 



SHAKESPEARE 35 

herself; there is no evidence that her father objected to the 
marriage on this account. The children of this marriage 
were three sons ; the oldest died in infancy ; the second lived 
to be about twenty years of age (1617 or 1618-1638 or 
1639) ; the third about the same age (1619 or 1620-1638 or 
1639). Judith herself lived to be nearly seventy-seven years 
of age. Dr. Hall died November 25, 1635. Mrs. Hall was 
buried beside her husband in the Stratford Churchyard : 
the inscription on her tombstone reads, ''Here lyeth ye body 
of Susanna Hall, wife to John Hall, Gent, ye daughter of 
William Shakespeare, Gent. She deceased ye 11th July, 
A. D. 1649, aged QQ. 

Witty above her sex, but that's not all, 
Wise to Salvation was good Mistress Hall, 
Something of Shakespeare was in that, but this 
Wholy of him with whom she's now in blisse. 
Then, passenger, ha'st ne're teare, 

To weepe with her that wept with all ? 
That wept, yet set herself to cheere 

Him up with comforts cordiall. 
Her love shall live, his mercy spread 
When thou hast ne're a teare to shed." 

Elizabeth Hall married Thomas Nash, a man of prop- 
erty, who died April 4, 1647, leaving no children. Two years 
later the widow married John Barnard, who was afterward 
knighted by Charles II, after which she was known as Lady 
Barnard; she died childless in 1669 or 1670, and thus the 
immediate family of the great Poet became extinct. 

In London 

It is evident that Shakespeare early fell in with the stroll- 
ing players who visited Stratford and vicinity and thus his 
dramatic instinct was awakened. 

His father's failing fortunes and an opportunity to earn 
a better livelihood for his family than Stratford afforded, 



36 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

were sufficient reasons for turning his attention to London 
as a business point: just when he went is not certainly- 
known, probably about 1586. Aubrey says that "William 
being naturally inclined to poetry and acting came to Lon- 
don and was actor in one of the play houses and did act 
exceeding well. He began early to make essays in dra- 
matic poetry which at that time was very low and his plays 
took well. He was a handsome, well-shaped man, very good 
company and of ever ready and pleasant smooth wit. Ben 
Johnson and he did gather humours of men daily wherever 
they came." Hudson says, ''As for the well known story of 
Begin- ^^^ being reduced to the extremes of picking up a 
ning little money by taking care of gentlemen's horses 
in that came to the play, I cannot perceive the slightest 

London likelihood of truth in it." Coleridge says, "That 
Shakespeare never turned his genius to stage writing, as 
Theobald phrases it, before he became an actor, is an asser- 
tion of about as much authority as the precious story that 
he left Stratford for deer stealing and that he lived by 
holding gentlemen's horses at the door* of the theater and 
other trash of that arch-gossip Aubrey." It is quite prob- 
able that Shakespeare began by serving as a sort of appren- 
tice to some actor which was a common custom at that time. 
At all events he early worked his way into his legitimate 
profession — what was in him would out; everything goes to 
show that about 1590 at twenty-six years of age, the founda- 
tions of his future were well laid, and that shortly after, his 
senior contemporaries began to show themselves 
, , quite jealous of his performances. Robert Greene, 

Jealousy ^ 

profligate and deserted by his friends, died in 1592; 
in his Groatsworth of Wit he denounces "certain gentlemen 
who spend their wits in making plays" and says, "Yes, trust 
them not, for there is an upstart Crow among them beauti- 
fied by our feathers, that with his tyger's heart wrapt in a 



SHAKESPEARE 37 

player's hide, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a 
blanke verse as the best of you; and being an absolute Jo- 
hannes Factotum, is in his owne conceit the only Shake- 
scene in the countrie." Greene's publisher, Henry Chettle,- 
in a preface to his Kind Hartes Dreame thus apologizes 
for this unkind fling at Shakespeare: "I am as sorry as if 
the original fault had beene my fault, because myselfe have 
scene his (i. e. Shakespeare) demeanour, no lesse civil that 
he (is) excellent in the qualitie he professes, besides divers 
of worship have reported his uprightness of dealing, which 
argues his honesty, and his facetious grace in writing that 
approves his art." There is certainty on some points, — that 
he soon acted parts on the stage ; that he soon began to re- 
cast and to write plays ; there is evidence that he took the 
parts of some of the characters in his own plays ; the Ghost 
in Hamlet and Adam in As Yon Like It have been men- 
tioned ; he soon acquired stock in the player's company. 

It was the custom of companies to buy outright the plays 
from the dramatic writers, thus the dramas passed entirely 
Recast- out of the control of the authors and became the 
ing absolute property of the companies, and hence could 

Plays |-jg retouched and re-cast at the will of the manager; 
this was sometimes done before the play was put upon the 
stage at all, and often with each subsequent performance. 
This kind of work naturally furnished a fine apprenticeship 
for a dramatic genius like Shakespeare, and accounts for the 
questionable authorship of so many of the plays which bear 
his name. It is thought that he began by retouching the 
second and third parts of Henry VI, the Altemus edition 
underscores the lines attributed to this new dramatic light: 
even at this early date in his history there is little mistak- 
ing Shakespearean ear-marks. 

Shakespeare first tried his hand at genuine Comedy, and 
Love's Labour's Lost is generally conceded to be his first 



38 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

entirely original drama. This is a light, humorous 

,,,^y. play, but shows that the author was a keen observer 
Writing ^ -^ ' 

of contemporary life in all its phases. In Romeo 
and Jnliet his first tragedy, he shows his master hand ; if his 
place as a dramatist was not assured before, it was unques- 
tioned from this time on. The Tempest is generally sup- 
posed to be his last complete play; it was performed in 1613, 
but was probably written some time before. 

It is impossible in a brief sketch to follow Shakespeare 
through his London life. It is known that he resided near 
Resi- the theaters ; a memorandum of the famous actor, 
dence in Alleyn (quoted by Malone), states that in 1596 he 
London |Q(^ge(^ ^itsiv the Bear Garden in Southwark, still he 
counted noblemen among his friends. 

As his mind became more centered upon play writing, 
the business of acting grew distasteful to him ; it is probable 
that he retired from the stage about 1604. 

His interest in Stratford never ceased, and notwithstand- 
ing the inconveniences of travel, it is thought that he always 
made yearly visits to his early home. Everything 
ijj goes to show that he was provident and a good busi- 

Stratford ness manager, and when he accumulated money, it 
and vvas to Stratford that he turned for investment, 

Business showing that he looked upon the home of his boy- 
hood as the home of riper years. In 1597, but little 
more than a decade after he left his native place with no 
capital but an active mind, he returned and bought New 
Place, one of the finest properties in Stratford : he gradually 
fitted it up and finally was able to place his family in a home 
which meant luxury. After this purchase, he con- 
, tinned to make repeated investments in and about 

ments Stratford : his townsmen began to look upon him as 
their monied man ; the only letter extant addressed 
to him, contains the request for a loan. His financial pros- 



SHAKESPEARE 39 

perity was the legitimate result of his theatrical business; he 
accumulated because he was not a charlatan, a debauchee 
and a spendthrift like the majority of his dramatic contem- 
poraries. 

He now relieved his father from financial embarrass- 
ment, and in 1599 succeeded in obtaining a coat of arms 
Coat of from the College of Heraldry, which his father had 
Arms for some time been striving for : his social position 
was now secure. 

As early as 1608 he stood godfather to the son of a 
friend in Stratford. In September, 1611, the principal men 
of the town raised a fund for the purpose of getting 
„ f J ci bill through Parliament for improving the condi- 
tion of the highways : Shakespeare's name appeared 
among the donors : by this time he had fully identified him- 
self with the interests of the community and settled down in 
what may be termed "active" retirement. He gathered his 
family about him in New Place where he entertained not 
only his friends, but notables who came to the town. Here 
Judith was married shortly before her father's death, and 
here Mrs. Susanna Hall lived and cared for her mother until 
her death, in 1623 ; from here she buried her husband in 
1635 and from here her own remains were carried to be laid 
by his side in Trinity churchyard in 1649, when the home 
reverted to Lady Barnard, who by her will, ordered the 
place to be sold. 

In January, 1616, Shakespeare felt his health failing 

and made his will ; it remained unsigned until the following 

„,.,, .March: by it his daug-hter, Susanna, was made mis- 
Will and -^ . . 

Death tress of New Place in strict entail, with the care of 
her mother, and was also given the greater portion 
of the entire estate. He passed away on April 23, 1616, his 
fifty-second birthday (?) and was buried near the north 
wall of the chancel in the Church of the Holy Trinity, 



40 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

Stratford, April 25. There his remains have lain undis- 
turbed ; undoubtedly they would long ere this have been re- 
moved to repose with the illustrious dead of Westminster, 
had it not been for a superstitious fear inspired by the fol- 
lowing inscription carved in the stone tablet above his tomb : 

"Good frend for Jesus' sake forbeare 
To digg the dust enclosed here; 
Blest be the man that spares these stones, 
And curst be he that moves my bones." 

In 174-1 a monumental statue was placed in the Poets' 
Corner in Westminster Abbey, the expenses being defrayed 
by public subscription.* 

The immediate cause of Shakespeare's death is- un- 
known. Mr. William Winter says that "The story that he 
died of drinking too hard at a merry meeting with 

C^3 llSP Or 

„ , Drayton and Ben Jonson is idle gossip." Mr. Lee 
says that "the popular legends of his achievements as 
a hard drinker may be dismissed as unproven." We know 
that he died in the luxury of his own home, surrounded by 
his family, in honor and affluence, and had the right, as 
part owner of tithes and lay-rector, to claim burial within 
the church of his native town, things which could be said of 
but few of his dramatic or literary contemporaries. 

While Shakespeare's fame increases with the centuries, 
there were by no means wanting those of his own day to 
Testi- appreciate the character and genius of their great 
mony of contemporary. He is always spoken of as genial 
Contem- and gentle in manner, mild in temper, a strong, firm 
poraries friend, but no bitter foe. Rowe records the tradi- 
tion that when Ben Jonson, in 1598, at the age of twenty- 
five offered his first comedy, Every Man in His Humor, to 
the actors' company, it was rejected; Shakespeare, who was 

*For an account of autographs, portraits, memorials, etc., see 
Lee's Life of Sh.akespeare, Chap. XVIII. 



SHAKESPEARE 41 

nine years his senior, with a reputation fairly well estab- 
lished, got the decision reversed, and himself took the char- 
acter of "Old Knowell" in the play, when it was put upon 
the stage. He rose superior to the contentions of contem- 
porary dramatists and in the "War of the Theaters" he 
took no part. 

In 1598 Francis Meres, a very learned divine, in his 
Palladis Tamia, treats Shakespeare as the "greatest literary 
Francis man of the day," he says : "The muses would speak 
Meres Shakespeare's fine filed phrase if they could speak 
English." Richard Barnfield, a rival poet writes, 

"And Shakespeare, thou whose honey flowing vein 

-^^^"^'"'^ thy praises doth obtain, 

Barn- q-j^y ^ame in Fame's immortal Book have placed, 

n^'<i Live ever you, at least in fame live ever; 

Well may the body die, but fame dies never." 

Kempe, a fellow actor, in speaking of the University 
^ dramatists says, "Why, here's our fellow Shakes- 

peare puts them all down." 

In 1664 the Duchess of Newcastle writes, "Shakespeare 
had a clear judgment, a quick wit, a subtile observation, a 
Duchess deep apprehension and a most eloquent elocution." 
of New- A poet by nature, he defied the laws of classic 
castle ^j.|-^ ^^^ created a dramatic world of his own. 

In 1676 Dry den wrote, 

Drvd "But Shakespeare's Magic could not copied be; 

Within that circle none durst walk but he." 

Before his collected dramas were published in 1623, the 

elaborate Gerard Johnson monument was erected to Shakes- 

^ , peare's memory, in the chancel of the Stratford 

Johnson ^ -^ 

Monu- church, and Mr. Leonard Diggs wrote that Shakes- 

ment, peare's works would be alive when 

-L^^SS^ "Time dissolves thy Stratford monument." 

Time has not yet entirely disolved the Stratford 



42 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

monument, and appreciation of Shakespeare's works is 
"widening with the process of the suns." 

Mr. Lee tells us that "the Bible alone of all literary 
compositions has been translated more frequently or into a 
Trans- greater number of languages than the works of 
lations Shakespeare." The different editions of Complete 
Shakespeare number hundreds while those of individual 
Editions plays can scarcely be estimated.* 

Besides the various editions, the volumes of Shakes- 
peariana are almost beyond conception. The Birmingham, 
Shakes- (England), memorial Shakespeare library, which 
peariana was destroyed by fire in 1879 and restored in 1882, 
it is said now contains nearly ten thousand volumes. The 
McMillan Shakespeare library in the library of the Univer- 
sity of Michigan, U. S. A., contains five thousand eighty- 
two volumes ; it is kept locked and is accessible to students 
only by special permit. How little Shakespeare the "myriad 
minded" realized that he was putting the world's verdict of 
himself into the mouth of Hamlet when he made his sad 
hero say of m.an, "How noble in reason ! how infinite in fac- 
ulty ; in appreciation how like a god !" 

Indifferent to fame, it is said that Shakespeare never 
signed his name to his dramas ; his writings were left care- 
Careless l^ssly scattered ; some plays found their way into 
Condi- print, but it was left for his actor friends, John 
tion of Heminge and Henry Condell, to assume the re- 

. . sponsibility of preserving this precious world-litera- 
Wntinsfs 

ture in its first complete edition, the famous First 

Folio of 1623. 

^Beginning with February, 1903, we are being treated to a 
charming single volume edition by Charlotte Porter and Helen 
Clark, which places for the first time a reprint of the "First Folio" 
in the hands of ordinary readers ; it contains besides the text, a 
great deal of very valuable matter. 



SHAKESPEARE 43 

It is impossible to fix with certainty the date of the com- 
position of the individual plays, as none were published un- 
Date of til long after they were written. The companies 
Plays fearing that publication would detract from the in- 
terest in their performance, did all in their power to keep 
the plays from the public eye. 

The following table given by Dowden is probably as au- 
thentic as any, and is of value as possibly showing his per- 
iods of mental growth : 

First. — Pre-Shakespearean Group, touched by Shakespeare, 
1588-1590 ( ?) . . . Titus Andronicus. 
1590-1591 ( ?) . . .1 Henry VI. 

Second. — Early Comedies, 

1590 (?) . . . Love's Labour's Lost. 

1591 . . . Comedy of Errors. 
1592-1593 (?) . . Two Gentlemen of Verona. 
1593-1594 (?) . . Midsummer Night's Dream. 

Third. — Marlowe-Shakespearean Group, 

1591-1592 ( ?) . . . 2, 3 Henry VL 
1593- . . . Richard HL 

Fourth. — Early Tragedy, 

1591-1596-1597 (?) (two dates)— Romeo and Juliet. 

Fifth.— Middle Historv. 



1594 .... 


Richard XL 


1595 .... 


King John. 


Sixth. — Middle Comedy. 




1596 .... 


Merchant of Venic 


Seventh. — Later History, 




History and Comedy united 




1597-1598 . . . . 


1, 2 Henry IV. 


1599- . . . 


Henry V. 



44 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 



Eighth. — Later Comedy, 

(a) Rough and boistrous Comedy, 

1597 ( ?) . . . . Taming of the Shrew. 

1598 ( ?) . . . . Merry Wives of Windsor. 

(b) Joyous, refined, romantic, 

1598- . . . Much Ado About Nothing. 

1599- ... As You Like It. 
1600-1601 . . . Twelfth Night. 

(c) Serious, dark, ironical, 



1601-1602 (?) . 
1603- 

1603 ( ?) revised 1607 ( ?) 
Ninth. — Middle Tragedy, 

1601 . 

1602 . 
Tenth. — Later Tragedy, 

1604- 

1605- 

1606- 

1607- 

1608- 

1607-1608 . 
Eleventh. — Romances, 

1608- 

1609- . ■ . 

1610- 

1610-1611 . 
Twelfth. — Fragments, 

1612- 

1612-1613 . 
Poems, 

1592 (?) 

1593-1594 

1595-1605 ( ?) . 



All's Well that Ends Well. 
Measure for Measure. 
Troilus and Cressida. 

Julius Caesar. 
Hamlet. 

Othello. 

Lear. . 

Macbeth. 

Antony and Cleopatra. 

Coriolanus. 

Timon of Athens. 

Pericles. 
Cymbeline. 
The Tempest. 
Winter's Tale. 

Two Noble Kinsman. 
Henry VIII. 

. Venus and Adonis. 
. Lucrece. 
Sonnets.* 



*For the latest and undoubtedly the most correct interpretation 
of the sonnets see Mr. Sidney Lee's Life of Shakespeare. 



SHAKESPEARE AS A DRAMATIST 45 

Shakespeare as a Dramatist 

A noted critic has said, "If an academy of immortals 
chosen from all ages could be formed, there is no doubt that 
a plebiscite of the English speaking peoples would send 
Shakespeare as their representative to that august assem- 
bly."* 

The volumes that have been written upon the marvelous 
genius and art of this master-mind but echo the same ex- 
pressions of appreciation. With reason we may ask, why 
this crown of kingship is so universally conceded to this 
man: others have surpassed him in literary formj others in 
mastery of language, in beauty of imagery, in fact in all 
that goes to make up literary art as commonly understood: 
then why? Snider answers the question thus, "There can 
be no doubt in the statement that the unique and all surpass- 
ing greatness of Shakespeare lies in his comprehension of 
the ethical order of the world." Many things are felt with- 
out being analyzed or understood ; while this cornerstone of 
Shakespeare's greatness has not always been emphasized by 
Shakespearean critics, it has been felt by Shakespearean 
readers. Shakespeare's greatness grows in the minds of men 
because they see there the reflection of themselves : the am- 
bitious unprincipled plotter and .schemer, seeking only his 
own selfish ends sees, not King Claudius, but himself. He 
who would wade through blood to accomplish his purpose, 
sees, not Richard III, but himself. The narrow, wily, 
scheming politician sees, not Polonius, but himself. Shakes- 
peare is rather a character revealer than a character 
builder. 

Saintsbury says, "Three chief distinguishing points in 
Shakespeare, are restraint in the use of sympathy with suf- 

*Edward Dowden in Warner's Library, page 13167. 



46 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

Three f ering ; restraint in the use of voluptuous excess, and 
Distin- humor. These points are not found in any of his 
guishing contemporaries." 

Points Every thoughtful reader of Shakespeare will rec- 

ognize the truth of these statements. Even in Ophelia's 
pathetic condition, no efifort is made to work up sympathy 
Restraint ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^ harrow the feelings of the audience or 
in the of the reader ; the pathos of the situation results 
use of from the character itself ; Ophelia is innocent, pure 
^y"^" and lovable, but weak ; she has no force of character 
^^ ^ to resist a great strain, and consequently when the 
strain comes, she gives way ; Shakespeare does not make her 
give way for the sake of efifect. 

Shakespeare never makes voluptuous excess attractive; 
voluptuousness is always manifested by voluptuous charac- 
Restraint ^^^^ ^^o work out their own end through their own 
in the use misdeeds ; vice may be portrayed, but one cannot 
of volup- imagine any reader of Shakespeare's plays being so 
tuous attracted by his vicious characters that he wants to 
follow in their footsteps ; even the greatest admirer 
of the inimitable Falstaff, can see that he comes to his miser- 
able end as the natural result of his life, which surely does 
not make this kind of life attractive. 

In like manner Shakespeare's humorous characters and 
scenes account for themselves. Gratiano does not say witty 
Restraint things just for the sake of amusing his hearers, but 
in the because his humor is inherent, and he can no more 
use of help giving vent to it than Hamlet can help showing 
Humor ^^ y^ outward manner that his "inky cloak" is truly 
a symbol of his inner heart-grief; while it may be 
"but the trappings and the suits of woe," he has "that within 
him which passeth show." 

Grave-digging is a mere matter of business with the 
grave-diggers in Hamlet, and to them is accompanied with 



SHAKESPEARE AS A DRAMATIST 47 

no more solemnity than the digging of a well would be to a 
well-digger ; the man who is by nature a wit or a humorist, 
carries his natural characteristics along with him as easily 
and as readily as though they were entirely appropriate to 
the occasion ; these characters come into the plays perfectly 
naturally, they are never dragged in for effect ; at the same 
time when they appear in tragedy, they usually do come in 
just when the audience or the reader feels the need of relief 
from the strain of the tragic, and here Shakespeare shows 
his marvelous genius. 

Mr. Saintsbury also says that Shakespeare's works show 
three distinct purposes : "First, to tell in every play a dra- 
Three matically complete story ; second, to work that story 
Distinct out by means of purely human and probable char- 
Purposes meters ; third, to give such form and ornaments to 
the working out of the play as might please the playgoers of 
his day." 

"In pursuing the first two, he was the poet and dramatist 
of all time. In, pursuing the third he was the intellectual 
playwright."* 

At the same time Mr. Saintsbury calls attention to the 
fact that the third point never in any sense interferes with 
Shakes- the other two, that even here he is also universal. 
peare While almost all of the other old dramatists have en- 
Universal ^jj-ely ceased to be acted, or at least only as mere cur- 
iosities, no generation since his death has had the slightest dif- 
ficulty in adapting nearly all of Shakespeare's plays to the stage 
of its own time. In studying Shakespeare's plays as literature, 
we must always bear in mind that the author's primary ob- 
ject was to write a play to be acted on the stage, and not to 
write a literary work to be read and which would become 
classic ; surely only the master-mind could so successfully 

*History of Elizabethan Literature, page 108-170. (In study- 
ing a play keep these points in mind.) 



48 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

accomplish both ends. The people who could live in, and 
tolerate the atmosphere of Smithfield, could be expected to 
be entertained only by tragedies that were tragic to the ex- 
tent of being horrible, and by comedies that were coarse 
often to vulgarity ; refined wit was beyond their appreciation. 

We are told that ''at the close of the piece it was cus- 
tomary for the clown in an after-play called the Jig, to give 
rp, J. an exhibition of his skill, to dance, to sing, to make 
grimaces and as an accompaniment, to improvise 
comic and infrequently senseless verses." 

Up to the time of Shakespeare the play lacked the unity 
and beauty of the dramatic art; it was Shakespeare's work 
to build upon the foundations laid, that perfect dramatic 
structure which has survived the centuries and stands to-day 
superior to all others. 

Characterization 

What a character is to us, depends upon our point of 
view, the light in which we place it; Shakespeare sees his 
characters from all points of view. Shakespearean students 
generally agree that he has put less of himself into his char- 
acters than most other authors. Hudson thinks "that his 
own moral soul is reflected in Henry V." This he considers 
an exception. Shakespeare's characters are true to them- 
selves ; having once disclosed themselves, we always know 
where to find them, what to expect of them. 

How wonderfully is his fine conception of womanhood 
expressed in his beautiful women; with what dignity and 
Shakes- true wifely affection Portia asserts her equality with 
peare's Brutus and claims her right to know his secrets : 
Women jj-f^ jg ^^^ worth living without him. Imogen is "of 
too pure eyes to behold iniquity," so pure, innocent and 
faithful that she cannot suspect the possibility of evil in 
others. Queen Katherine when cast off, still remains faith- 



SHAKESPEARE 49 

ful to the voluptuous Henry VIII. So certain of herself 
does Rosalind feel, that it never once occurs to her that don- 
ning man's attire might subject her to unpleasant situations. 

The perfection of Shakespeare's characters lies in the 
fact of their perfect naturalness ; they are the actual men and 
women whom we have known, with whom we can converse 
as in daily life, and not simply men and women in a book : 
his perfect characters are not too perfect to be human; his 
base characters are not too base to be reclaimed; even old 
Jack Falstafif died "babbling a'green fields." 

We constantly find our interest centered more and more 
in the characters than in the plot : the plot is rather a back- 
Charac- ground to bring out the characters, instead of the 
ters and characters being the mere instruments used in work- 
Piot ing out the plot, as with many other playwrights and 
story tellers. 

Still, while Shakespeare does not sacrifice character- 
painting to plot, neither does he sacrifice plot to character- 
painting; what he does do, is to so blend the two, that they 
strengthen each other and produce a perfect whole. We 
find no really weak characters ; even the fool is always a 
No weak good fool and strong in his way, and his wit often 
Charac- contains the wisest sayings : the serving maid, 
*^^^ Maria, is quick-witted enough to write the letter 

which entraps Malvolio and which contains the. oft repeated 
truism, "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and 
some have greatness thrust upon them." In Love's La- 
hour's Lost, how quickly Moth in his very first appearance, 
awakens our sympathy and draws us to him ; his whole con- 
versation with Armado should be read to fully appreciate his 
quick wit. 

Shakespeare's justice to his characters is shown in his 
treatment of King Claudius, whose deep-seated villainy is 



so STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

Justice disclosed only to be despised ; at the same time his 
to business ability is shown throughout the play, and 

Charac- his able statesmanship is so clearly brought out in 
^^^^ the affair with Norway, that if it were possible for a 

man utterly devoid of moral character to be a good king, 
Denmark would have no reason to complain of her sover- 
eign. Ulrici thinks that it is impossible for a man either 
from his own knowledge of the world or from his own in- 
dividual experience to have such a deep insight into char- 
acter of all kinds, from the normal to the more abnormal 
and. unusual states of mind, such as madness, idiocy, etc., as 
Shakespeare shows : he says it can only be the result of 
''deep poetical insight into human nature and life in gen- 
eral." Is it not by reason of this ''deep poetical insight" that 
as we read we see the characters only, and for the time lose 
sight of the worker in the magnificent results of his work- 
manship ? 

If Shakespeare determined all cases for us, his char- 
acters and his plays would soon lose their interest. It must 
be that he does not tell us whether Hamlet was really insane 
or only feigning insanity, or else after a lapse of three hun- 
dred years the ablest critics would not still be discussing the 
question. 

Shakespeare's characters all serve a definite purpose; 
when this is accomplished they are not allowed to drag on 
Dj-af^atjc through the play, but drop out. The dramatic pur- 
Purpose pose of F'alstaff was to throw light upon the conduct 
of Char- of Henry, and when he was cast off by the Prince, 
acters there was no further occasion for the existence of 
this grotesque individual ; his mission was accomplished and 
he cannot consistently appear as a character in Henry V , 
but as if to satisfy us concerning his end, Mistress Quickly- 
Pistol gives a most pathetic account of his death, in which 
she would have us feel that at last his soul was at rest from 



MORALS 51 

its wanderings, safe in ''Arthur's bosom," by no means in 
hell. No study is more interesting than that of Shakes- 
peare's characters and his method of handling them. 



Topics to be Noted in the Study of Shakes- 
peare's Plays 

Morals 

Since the change in the moral tone and thought of the 
times requires expurgated editions, the morality of Shakes- 
peare's plays has sometimes been questioned. That he is a 
moralizer no one will claim ; that he is thoroughly moral we 
think must be evident to every careful student. If he is to 
paint life universal and complete, he cannot entirely eschew 
Treat- immoral characters, but he can, and does show his 
ment of morality in the handling of these characters ; he 
Immoral never paints them in such attractive colors as to 
Char- niake them models for imitation, in each case the 
character must sustain itself ; as Ian Maclaren says, 
"If Posty will tell lies, I cannot help it." If it is necessary to 
expose a hideous phase of life, that it may be condemned 
and thus serve as a lesson, Shakespeare does not hesitate to 
do it. Vice may be pardoned, not condemned. Even in his 
liberality which the extremely fastidious might fancy tends 
to looseness, he never mixes vice and virtue. 

"But virtue, as it never will be moved, 
Though lewdness court it in a shape of Heaven, 
So lust, though to a radiant angel link'd, 
Will sate itself in a celestial bed, 
And prey on garbage." — Hamlet. 

Dowden says, "The central principle of Falstaff's method 
of living is that the facts and laws of the world may be 



52 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

„ , rr evaded or set at defiance, if only the resources of 
Falstaff . , ,, , , . , .. 

inexhaustible wit be called upon to supply by bril- 
liant ingenuity, whatever deficiencies may be found in char- 
acter and conduct. Therefore Shakespeare condemns Fal- 
staflf inexorably." And again, "The supremacy of the moral 
laws of the world was acknowledged by Shakespeare in the 
minutest as well as in the greatest concerns of life. He 
reaches the ultimate truths of human life and of character 
through a supreme and individual energy of love, imagina- 
tion and thought." His dramatic contemporaries show traces 

of gross immorality ; Shakespeare never does. 

Even Antony while still in the toils of the bewitch- 
ing Cleopatra, curses himself and his charmer. 

"Oh, thy vile lady; 
She has robbed me of my sword, 
She hath betrayed me, and shall die the death." 

Having "lived in such dishonor that the gods detest my 
baseness," he begs his faithful friend to take his life. lago 
says that " 'tis publicly rumored" that Othello has violated 
the sanctity of his (lago's) home: he gets his re- 
venge by undermining Othello's confidence in Des- 
demona, so that Othello at last takes her life and then his 
own. If Othello has been guilty, he dearly pays the penalty. 

Gervinus says, "The relation of Shakespeare's poetry to 
morality and to moral influence upon men is most per- 
fect." Coleridge says, "Shakespeare has no innocent vice; 
he never renders that amiable which religion and reason 
alike teach us to detest, or clothes impurity in the garb of 
virtue like Beaumont and Fletcher. Even the letters of 
women of high rank in his age, were often coarser than his 
writings." Hence we see that the tendency of his work was 
to uplift and purify the moral atmosphere of his times. 

Shakespeare is always loyal to the institutions of the 
Family and the State. The theme of Much Ado About Nofh- 



MORALS 53 

Institu- ^'^S '^^ ^^^ permanence of the Family Institution : Be- 

tions of atrice and Benedick are enticed to found a family 

Family against their original will ; while that arch enemy of 

^"^ the family, Don John, after all of his fiendish plots, 

^^^^ is finally thwarted by the marriage of Claudio and 

Hero. Macbeth 

"In blood 
Stepped in so far that should I wade no more, 
Returning were as tedious as go o'er," 

in order to get and keep the crown simply to satisfy his own 
ambition, is finally overtaken by Nemesis and the crown 
passes to the son of the gentle Duncan. When the members 
of the whole royal family of Denmark are swept out by their 
own deedsj Fortinbras, the mediated individual, is pro- 
claimed King and the government goes on without a ripple. 
The "fittest" always ''survives." 

This moral system runs through all of the great Poet's 
dramas, binding them into one whole.* Evidently Shakes- 
peare's mission was not only to write the perfect drama but 
also to purify and elevate the stage. Hudson says, "Shakes- 
peare found the English drama a low, foul, disreputable 
thing, chiefly in the hands of profligate adventurers, and he 
Hfted it out of the mire, breathed strength and sweetness 
into it, and made it clean, fair and honorable ; a structure all 
alive with beauty and honest delectation." 

Religion 
As Shakespeare is not a moralizer, neither is he a 
preacher, but Dowden says, "If we recognize in a moral 

*This unity of Shakespeare's works is most admirably brought 
out by Mr. Richard G. Moulton in his very helpful new book (1903) 
entitled "The Moral System of Shakespeare." Applying Carlyle's 
test, "that the only speech that is worth listening to is that which 
throws light on the matter," this book should be read by all who 
would understand Shakespeare. 



54 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

order of the world a divine presence, then the divine pres- 
ence is never absent from Shakespeare's world." And again, 
"To many at the present time, the sanity and strength of 
Shakespeare would assuredly be an influence that might well 
be called religious." How much of Shakespeare's own per- 
sonal religious beliefs or soul experiences are reflected in the 
characters of his plays, it would be unwise to attempt to 
conjecture. 

We have no right to question Shakespeare's sincerity in 
the opening expression of his will ; he says : 

First, I commend my soule into the handes of God my Creator, 
hoping and assuredlie believing through thonelie merrittes of Jesus 
Chirste my Saviour, to be made partaker of lyfe everlastinge, and 
my bodye to the earth whereof yt ys made. 

That he was a deep student of religious subjects, his 
works well show. Hamlet is studied by specialists of the 
subject of insanity, but it may almost be considered a work 
of religious intensity. Hamlet himself, is completely under 
the control of his religious conscience until after he is guilty 
of killing Polonius. Claudius, wicked as he is, cannot shut 
his eyes to what true repentance consists in ; Horatio has 
overcome the world and has risen to a state of perfection 
attained by few mortals. 

"for thou hast been 
As one, in suffering all, that suffers nothing; 
A man that Fortune's buffets and rewards 
Hath ta'en with equal thanks." — Hamlet V — 2. 

The Bible 

It has been said that if the Bible were totally destroyed, 
more of it could be reproduced from Shakespeare than from 
any other source. 

That Shakespeare was a deep student of the Bible, is 
more than evident to one who will take the trouble to look 
Biblical Up allusions to Scriptural references. A few will 
Allusions suffice for illustration : 



RELIGION 55 

"There is special providence in the fall of a sparrow." 

—Hamlet V— 2. 
Compare Matthew, X, 29. 

"Our will and fates do so contrar}^ run, 
That our devices still are overthrown; 
Our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own." 

Hamlet III— 2. 

We find the same thought in Act V, Scene 2. Indeed 
Hamlet is full of these Scriptural allusions. 

In Richard II, Act V, Scene 2, read the speech of York 
beginning", 

■'As in a theatre the eyes of men," 

Closing with 

"To whose high will we bound our calm contents. 
But heaven hath a hand in these events, 
To Bolingbroke are we sworn subjects now, 
Whose state and honour I for aye allow." 

Compare Psalms LXXV, 6-7. 

In Measure for Measure, Act I, Scene 2, we read: 

"The words of Heaven — on whom it will, it will ; 
On whom it will not, so; yet still 'tis just." 

Compare Romans IX, 15. Exodus XXXIII, 19. 

In Act II, Scene 2, Isabella says, 

"Alas! alas! 
Why all the souls that were, were forfeit once; 
And he, that might the vantage best have took, 
Found out the remedy. How could you be. 
If He, which is the top of judgment, should 
But judge you as you are? O think on that; 
And mercy then will breathe within your lips, 
Like man new-made." 

Compare Romans III, 23 ; John III, 16 ; Psalms CXXX, 
3; Ephesians IV, 24. 

Paul tells us in I Corinthians, I, 27, that "God hath 
chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things 
that are mighty." .... etc., etc. 



56 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

In Airs Well That Ends Well, Act II, Scene 1, Helena 

says : 

"He that of greatest works is finisher, 
Oft does them by the weakest minister; 
So holy writ in babes hath judgment shown. 
When judges have been babes." 

"Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings . . . etc." 

Psalms VII, 2. 

"Great floods have flown 
From simple sources." 

"And thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall v^ater 
come out of it . . . . . etc, etc." 

Exdous XVII, 6. 

"and great seas have dried 
When miracles have by the greatest been denied." 

"And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the 
Lord made the sea dry land." Exodus, XIV ; XXI, 27. 

"Most it is presumption in us, when 

The help of heaven we count the act of men." 

In Acts VIII ; 20-21, Peter says to Simon, "Thy money 
perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of 
God may be purchased with money." 

"Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter ; thy heart 
is not right in the sight of God." 

These few illustrations suffice to show Shakespeare's 
wonderful knowledge of the Bible, and there is really no 
limit to the use which he makes of it through his entire 
works. One who has made a special study along this line 
says that, "the names of God and Christ appear eight hun- 
dred and fifty-seven times in Shakespeare's works. The 
"Tattler" III says of Shakespeare, "This admirable author, 
as well as the best and greatest men of all ages and of all 
nations, seems to have had his mind thoroughly seasoned 
with religion." 



THE SUPERNATURAL 57 

The Supernatural 

The unseen, the mysterious, the supernatural, has always 
had a wonderful fascination for the human mind. In Shakes- 
Super- peare's time, beliefs that the affairs of men were 
stitious greatly affected by supernatural influences still pre- 
Beliefs vailed ; ghosts still walked, witches tantalized, teased 
and took possession of men, women and children; porten- 
tous events were heralded by convulsions and strange mani- 
festations of nature. Small wonder, then, that our great 
dramatist, with his keen insight into human nature, should 
make such wonderful use of the supernatural in his plays. 
Did Shakespeare himself believe strongly in the supernat- 
ural? Was he himself, a ghost-seer? Had he the "Weird 
Sisters" within him? Were all his life's discords and con- 
flicts harmonized in the ''Forest of Arden?" We may not 
probe too deeply into his soul experiences, but we certainly 
Shakes- find nearly every phase of the mysterious realm and 
peare's its influences upon the minds and affairs of men in 
use of the his works ; he seems to comprehend the supernat- 
Super- ui-al world quite as fully as the natural. He calls up 
natural ghosts. Spirits, wraiths, hobgobbHns at will, and 
makes them vital elements of his dramas ; there 
could be no Hamlet without the ghost of his father to re- 
veal the deed, and to urge him on to revenge it; the true 
character of Macbeth could be revealed only by means of the 
Weird Sisters ; the greatness of Caesar and the un justness of 
his assassination, were impressed upon the minds of the peo- 
ple by means of the strange and supernatural signs and man- 
ifestations of nature ; the ghost of the murdered man, haunts 
Brutus ; the not quite smothered conscience of Richard HI 
summons the disembodied spirits of those whom he has 
Nature foully murdered. 

in In the field of Comedy, nature seems to 

Comedy be the great healer; all discords are medi- 
ated in the ideal realm of the Forest of Arden ; the 



58 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

problem of Imogen and her lost brothers is worked out in 
nature's forests, away from the habitations of men, where 
discords do not jar; in Midsummer Night's Dream, fantasy 
holds sway ; and what shall be said of The Tempest? It 
The seems the supernatural world itself dramatized ; it is 
Tempest almost too ideal for human interpretation; some 
think that this play was Shakespeare's last work; certain it 
is that it was written after he had passed through the most 
of life's conflicts. Had he, like Prospero, fled with his in- 
tellect from the outer world of discord? Could he with mag- 
ical power command the forces of the spiritual and mental 
realms and make them obey him? Had he subdued the 
sensual Caliban in his nature? Could he control the sprite 
Ariel, and make him work out everything for good and 
bring all into harmony at last? However we may answer 
these questions, surely in The Tempest Shakespeare shows 
himself master of the ideal realms : some think that here he 
has reached the spiritual heights, where he can look 
down and see himself working out his own dramas and his 
own problems. Certain it is, that he now revels in the 
supernatural world ; he manipulates its powers and forces at 
will ; in fact, it is his own world ; he peoples it with the 
creatures of his own imagination and possibly his experi- 
ences. Eliminate the supernatural element from Shakes- 
peare, and Shakespeare's charm would be gone. No longer 
could he be truly called the Myriad-Minded. 

Still we may ask, as a motive power in the movement of 
the play, how is this element used, what power has it? In 
Super- Hamlet the Ghost reveals the deed and charges 
natural Hamlet to revenge it; but is the influence of the 
as a Ghost strong enough to impel Hamlet to action ? 

Motive Macbeth consults the Weird Sisters, but when they 
do not echo his own evil thoughts and desires, he 
exclaims : 



THE SUPERNATURAL 59 

"Infected be the air whereon they ride ; 
And damn'd all those that trust in them !" 

The Ghosts of Richard IH's victims simply foretell the 
issue of the morrow's battle. 

Mr. Moulton lays down three propositions : 

"First : Supernatural agency in Shakespeare has no 
power to influence events unless by influencing persons. 

"Second : The supernatural has no power over men ex- 
cept by their own consent. 

"Third : The influence in Shakespeare of the supernat- 
ural on persons is seen to emphasize and assist, but never to 
initiate or alter, a course of action* 

Mr. Moulton sums up his chapter on this topic as fol- 
lows : "Supernatural agency has a place in the world of 
Shakespeare. Among the forces of life, it has no power ex- 
cept to accentuate what already exists ; but it has great 
power to illuminate life for those who are life's spectators. "t 

Forms of the Supernatural in Shakespeare. 

Ghost. Objective, or re-embodied spirit. 

Subjective, or disembodied spirit. May influence 
for good or evil. 
Witches. Unnatural beings, never human, ugly, always in- 
tent upon evil, leading men to destruction. 
Portents. 

Convulsions in Nature. Portending dire evils or accompany- 
ing them. 
Fairies. Fanciful creations of dream-land. Dainty little 
creatures who wage war upon the ugly. Intent upon 
pranks, trying to tease, not criminal. Hold sway in 
the court of love. 



*It is well to bear these statements in mind while reading not 
only the Ideal Dramas, but others which are tinged with the super- 
natural element. 

fMoral System of Shakespeare, page 302, 304. 



60 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

Sprites. Like Ariel, whose mission it is to transform every- 
thing into good. The opposite is seen in CaHban. 

Angels. Ministering spirits from the unseen world. {Henry 
VIIL) 

Ideal Realms, where all discords are harmonized, as the 
Forest of Arden. 

Oracles, gods and goddesses of the classical drama. 
Fiends appear to La Pucelle. 

Humor 

Shakespeare's humor is never-failing. It has been well 
said that ''the humor of Shakespeare is more than a laughter 
producing power; it is a presence and prevailing influence 
throughout his most earnest creations." 

The humor of youth manifests itself in fun, appreciates 
the ridiculous, and too frequently enjoys the wit which is 
unkind ; the maturity of years tones down these tendencies 
to an appreciation of that genuine humor which is never per- 
sonal and cannot be unkind. It seems that with experience 
Shakespeare grew to realize more and more the universality 
Humor ^^ humor ; that the human heart has by nature and 
Universal must have, a deep vein of humor in it to keep it 
and a sweet and fresh ; to keep it from becoming corroded 
Necessity |^y ^.j^g vexations, cares and stern realities of life. 

Many suppose that Love's Labour's Lost was Shakes- 
peare's first play; this is rollicking fun from begin- 
ning to end ; pure and innocent ; every situation so humor- 
ous that it seems to say 'T am here just for the fun of it, just 
because I cannot help it." In the plays of his later years the 
humor is different, more quaint perhaps, but never entirely 
lacking, not even in his most serious tragedies ; the heart 
would break under a constant strain of tears, unrelieved by 
the laugh which must at least temporarily, dispel the clouds. 



HUMOR 61 

A German poet says, "Shakespeare inoculates his tragedy 
with comic virus, and thus it is preserved from the great dis- 
ease of absurdity." 

His humor is by no means confined to the fool and the 
clown, but often manifests itself in the gravest characters : 
even the sombre Hamlet is not devoid of it: when the King 
asks him "Where is Polonius?" he replies "In heaven, send 
thither to see; if your messenger find him not there, seek 
him i' the other place yourself." We are as truly in sym- 
S jjj. pathy with the clown as with the crown ; we never 
pathy feel contempt for the man who makes the fun; as 
with the Hudson truly says, "A fellow-feeling springs up be- 
^ool ' tween us and the fools, we are far more inclined to 
laugh with them than at them, and even when we laugh at 
them we love them the more for that which is laughable in 
them, so that our intercourse with them proceeds under the 
great law of kindness and charity," "and so the pleasure we 
have of them is altogether social in its nature and humaniz- 
ing in its effect, ever knitting more widely the bands of 
sympathy." 

We feel safe in saying that Shakespeare's peculiar 
method of handling humor is all his own, we seek in vain for 
it in other authors. 

Melancholy, as is the grave-digger's scene in Hamlet, 
both in subject and in situation, there seems nothing incon- 
gruous in the quaint humor of the grave-diggers themselves, 
and we feel the mind somewhat relieved from the strain of 
the tension which it has so long sustained. 

Shakespeare's humor never descends to unkind wit, to 
that sarcasm and irony which cuts undeservedly and hence 
disgusts us. The chief objects of his mirth are the follies 
and foibles of the times, and not the misfortunes or weak- 
nesses of individuals ; even from this point of view, his good 
friend Ben Jonson could still call him "Gentle Will." 



62 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

Music 

Before the advent of Puritanism, music was a prominent 
feature of the daily life in England. The spinet was the 
favorite instrument from the Crown to the common people. 
Elizabeth herself played the spinet and the lute. We are 
told that the barber shops frequently contained a spinet for 
the amusement of its waiting customers. Shakespeare had 
every opportunity for hearing music, and if he did not 
understand its technique, his soul certainly responded to its 
soul. Speaking through Lorenzo, he says, 

"The man that hath no music in himself, 
Nor is not moved by concord of sweet sounds 
Is fit for treason, strategem and spoils. 
Let no such man be trusted." 

Surely he who gave utterance to those lines had music "in 
himself," or he could never have shown such wonderful 
appreciation of the influence of the harmony of sound. The 
Merchant of Venice alone speaks volumes on this subject. 
The untamed herds 

"Or any air of music touch their ears, 
You shall perceive them make mutual stand, 
Their savage eyes turned to a modest gaze 
By the sweet power of music." 

Portia would have Bassanio thrown under the spell of music 
while he makes his choice of the caskets. 

"Then if he lose, he makes a swan-like end fading in music." 

The poor old mad King Lear was lulled to sleep by soft 
music; gentle, distracted Ophelia gave vent to her feelings 
in snatches of song. 

As You Like It is full of song. Jaques calls for it, he 
says, 'T can suck melancholy out of a song as a weasel sucks 
eggs. More, I prithee, more." The Duke Senior would 
have song while poor, starved Adam feeds. Let the reader 



UNIVERSAL KNOWLEDGE 63 

follow the play through to the end where the clown closes 
with a song. 

Thus we might trace this sweetest of all arts through 
play after play ; but as these studies are designed to be 
merely suggestive, we leave the student to follow these hints 
for himself. Enough has been said to show that music in 
the great dramatist's plays is no accident. It must come 
from the soul or it would not have been of such constant 
recurrence. 

Universal Knowledge* 

The general knowledge shown in Shakespeare's works is 
almost as remarkable as his general insight into the human 
mind and heart. 

Attention has already been called to his knowledge of 
the Bible and of music. Bishop Charles Wordsworth has 
written an entire book upon the first subject. 

Lazv 

Lord Campbell, an eminent lawyer, has written a work 
entitled ''Shakespeare's Legal Acquirements." He says, "He 
knows to a nicety the technicalities of the bar, the formulas 
of the bench." In fact his legal knowledge seems so great 
that some have thought that at some time he must have 
served time in a lawyer's office. His father was so much en- 
gaged in public affairs that he doubtless learned much of 
legal matters and terms while assisting him. 

Medical Knowledge. 

His knowledge of the human mechanism is the astonish- 
ment of the medical fraternity. There are in his works more 
than seventy references to the circulation of the blood, al- 
though Harvey did not publish his treatise on the subject 
until 1628. 

*See Brandes' Life of Shakespeare. Chap. XIV. 



64 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

He seemed to have the knowledge of an expert, of the 
working of the insane mind in all its various phases. He 
could tell from the appearance, whether a body gave evi- 
dence of natural death or death by violence. In Henry VI, 
in — 2, Warwick discusses the death of Duke Humphrey: 

"Oft' have I .seen a timely-parted ghost, 

"Of ashy semblance, meager, pale, and bloodless, . . . 

But see, his face is black, and full of blood." 

The full description is very graphic. 

Physical Science 

He evidently accepted the, at that time, dimly conceived 
idea of gravitation, although the clearly defined laws of 
Newton and Kepler were not given to the world until after 
his death. 

"The strong base and budding of my love 
Is as the very centre of the earth, 
Drawing all things to it." 

Troilus and Cressida, IV — 2. 

Nature 

Shakespeare's knowledge of nature was marvelous ; he 
certainly "held communion with her visible forms" and to 
him she spoke "a various language." 

One who has taken the trouble to count, says that the 
Poet makes mention of no less than two hundred kinds of 
Plant flowers, herbs, etc. ; even this must be a low estimate, 
Life since nearly fifty are in some way alluded to in 
Midsummer Night's Dream alone. What wonderful Shakes- 
pearean bouquets could be gathered, and what Shakes- 
pearean banquets could be served ! And then Perdita and 
Ophelia can give us the language of flowers : ''There's rose- 
mary for remembrance, — and there is pansies, that's for 
thoughts." {Hamlet IV, 2). The idea that rosemary 
strengthened the memory and that pansies were emblems of 



NATURE 65 

sad thoughts was of very ancient origin. Falstaff says 
{Merry Wives) "Let the sky rain potatoes," and it is inter- 
esting to note that this is almost the first mention of the po- 
tato after its introduction into Ireland by Sir Walter Raleigh 
in 1584. 

If one visits Shakespeare's Stratford home he may see 
through the window, a garden of Shakespearean flowers 
Shakes- and plants, but he may not venture further, doubt- 
pearean less for fear of trespass ; but in democratic America, 
ens ^^^ j^g^y walk at will, from sunrise till sunset, 
through the paths of Harvard's Shakespeare garden (a part 
of her great botanical gardens in North Cambridge) : here 
may be seen great numbers of carefully indexed "flowers 
commonly alluded to in Shakespeare." 

This collection, together with a nearby "Virgil bed" was 
started by Prof. Goodale of the University in 1899. Let all 
lovers of Shakespeare tender him a vote of thanks and hope 
that the good work may continue. 

Shakespeare's knowledge of insect life and the character- 
istics and habits of birds and the larger animals, especially of 
Animal dogs and horses seems inexhaustible. Whole books 
Life have been written upon this subject. As a boy living 
in the country, he certainly must have made good use of his 
eyes. The ordinary reader is quite liable to ov^look many 
of these points by reason of his own ignorance. How many 
know that the grey-hound is the only dog that can catch its 
prey while running at full speed. "Thy wit is as great as the 
grey-hound's mouth ; it catches." {Much Ado About Noth- 
ing, V. 2). Space forbids multiplying references; look for 
them ; they are not like Gratiano's reasons : "two grains of 
wheat hid in two bushels of chaff," "when you have them 
they are (not) worth the search." 



66 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

Typography 

An English printer by the name of Blades, has published 
a book (1872) entitled "Shakespeare and Typography" in 
which he shows that Shakespeare was perfectly familiar 
with everything pretaining to the printing office : so well 
versed was he in the idiomatic language of the printer that 
he might have been a ''Printer's Devil." Some think that at 
one time he had a pecuniary interest in a publishing house; 
only sixteen of his plays were published during his lifetime ; 
the proprietors of theatres thought the printing of plays de- 
tracted from their business and endeavored to prevent their 
general dissemination in this way ; the marvel is that the 
works of our great dramatist are so well preserved. 

Vocabulary 

It is said that Shakespeare's vocabulary contains 15,000 
words, while the Old Testament contains but 5,642, and as 
has been stated, his works have been translated into 
more languages and tongues than any other book except the 
Bible. 



II 

PRINCIPLES AND STRUCTURE OF THE 
SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA.* 



Ethics of the Shakespearean Drama 

First, the Shakespearean Drama is ethical. It portrays a 
world of conflict — principles in conflict. The dramatic col- 
Ethical lision is the collision of ethical principles ; the indi- 
Princi- vidtial is the bearer of these principles, he is im- 
ples. bued with them. Man is controlled from within, he 
alone is responsible for his own acts, he works out his own 
destruction or salvation, as the case may be.f In his sub- 
jective conflicts, he must compel the subordination of the 
Bad to the Good, or be crushed in the conflict. 

Second, the Shakespearean Drama finally brings all con- 
flicting elements into harmony : peace always follows war ; 
this may be brought about in different ways, for the 
drama is realistic, it is true to life as we find it; the 
discordant element must be destroyed ; if the individual does 
not repent he must die, as in Tragedy ; the elemxent of media- 
tion may enter, the individual repents, and harmony is re- 
stored without the necessity of death and the play becomes 
Comedy. Discord may be caused by absurdities or blunders, 
which, exposed, restore harmony, and the play becomes far- 
cical ; but in all cases harmony is restored through the funda- 
mental principle of Nemesis or ''the return of the deed upon 

*Based primarily, upon Snider's Commentaries. 
fSee note, page 5. 

67 



68 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

the doer." Some critics do not accept this theory in its ful- 
lest extent, but we believe that we are not misrepresenting 
Shakespeare when we say that harmony once disturbed, is, 
in the end, always restored in the particular form of the 
Ethical World through which the drama moves, either 
through retribution or through mediation, or, as in some of 
the lighter comedies, through the clearing of the atmos- 
phere of misunderstanding or blunders. 

Further, when the "return of the deed upon the doer" is 
stated as a fundamental principle or law of the Shakes- 
pearean drama, we understand that this law applies 
and works out as in real life ; a corrupt heart and 
mind cannot develop a moral life ; "the wages of sin is 
death." But while as a rule Nemesis follows the evil doer, 
and retribution seems to be the general law of the universe, 
all forces both moral and physical, combine to make one 
whole, and an individual may become involved in a great 
catastrophe, and thereby meet a violent death which is by 
no means the result of an evil deed of his own. Every vio- 
lent death is not necessarily a tragic death in the dramatic 
sense. 

We must not overlook the principle of sacrifice which is 
often extremely pathetic. Is not this the principle of re- 
r^, demption through Christ who manifested himself to 

Princi- ^^'^^ world in the person of Jesus who suffered death 
pie of on the cross for the sins of humanity ; this principle 
Sacrifice of sacrifice, or death of the innocent for the guilty, 
is always pathetic ; sometimes the effort may fail, as in the 
case of Cordelia, who failed to save her father but lost her 
own life in the attempt. 

From an ethical standpoint, Cordelia's pathetic end is 

variously accounted for by different, and may we not say, 

equally sympathetic interpreters ; one tells us 

that her great devotion to the family brings her 



ETHICS OF THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 69 

into collision with the State which is a higher prin- 
ciple ; in order to save her father she invades his country 
with a French army which is a sin against patriotism, and 
she pays the penalty by a tragic death. Another cannot so 
see it, but thinks that she is quite justifiable in bringing a 
foreign army to resist her wicked sisters, and accounts for 
her violent death from the ''dramatic motive of pathos ;" 
she completely devotes herself to her father and her life is 
sacrificed in her efforts to save him ; this certainly is a beau- 
tiful interpretation, and the pathos of her death is inten- 
sified by the fact that her father had so unjustly banished 
her from his heart and from his kingdom. 

But this drama is prim.arily the drama of Lear. Lear dis- 
turbs the harmony of the ethical institutions of both State 
and Family. Long years of absolute power have 
developed the tyrant dominated by selfishness; 
weary of care, he would shirk the responsibilities of gov- 
ernment but retain the pleasures of its outward show ; he 
forsakes reason and suffers the penalty of reason forsaking 
him ; the State is nothing to him ; he would throw govern- 
ment aside like a cast-off garment; his daughter Cordelia 
cannot play false like her treacherous sisters, and he thrusts 
her aside as easily an an impatient child tosses away the toy 
which cannot obey his bidding. If she goes with some bit- 
terness in her heart, her inherent love of truth develops into 
the truth of love, and she returns only to be sacrificed. 

Since Lear's sin is so great that Nemesis will only be 
satisfied with his tragic end, his deed returns upon his own 
head. 

Nemesis follows Regan and Goneril and they suffer the 
penalty of their own wicked deeds ; if we see in Cordelia's 
violent death only "dramatic pathos," this by no means in- 
fringes upon the general law of retribution, but simply 
shows that while evil deeds bring their own punishment, all 
misfortune is not necessarily the result of wrong doing. 



70 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

In Shakespeare, the dramatic collison is not necessarily 
between absolute wrong and absolute right; his Ethical 
World is rather peopled with a gradation of prin- 
peare's ciples ; it nevertheless holds true, that the higher 
Ethical always subordinates the lower. The soul often per- 
World plexed, may find it difficult to decide which is higher 
and which is lower : this, it is the province of the Dramatic 
Solution to determine. Shakespeare's individuals, like indi- 
viduals in the every-day world, are not always controlled 
by the abstract principles of right and wrong, but often by 
their own ideas of right and duty, hence we^. must bear in 
mind that in this study we must consider the word ethical as 
not exactly synonymous with the word moral in the abstract. 

Plan of Shakespeare's Ethical World. 

We observe two grand divisions running through 
Shakespeare's dramas, the Institutional or Objective, and 
the Moral or Subjective. 

1. Institutional. 
While institutions seem to be external to man and to 
hold him subject to their laws, they are really the creatures 
of his creation, and while they hold him in abeyance, they 
do so only to make possible his larger liberty. It is only 
through institutions that man rises out of himself and be- 
comes a part of universal life ; but harmony with institu- 
tions, usually implies conflict passed through. 

The Shakespearean drama deals mainly with two insti- 
tutions, the Family and the State. In the legendary drama, 
the outward collision is primarily in the Family, while in 
the historical drama it is in the State. 

(a) The Family. 

Love is the great life-giving principle of the world ; it is 
the basis of the family. The love of the man and the woman 
leads to the establishment of the Family, which gives 



SHAKESPEARE'S ETHICAL WORLD 71 

rise to the family relation ; love of husband and wife, 
parent and child, brother and sister, etc. In the insti- 
tution of the Family, collision occurs between parents and 
lovers, as in The Merchant of Venice; husband and wife, 
Othello ; parents and child in Lear; sisters in Lear. It is in- 
teresting to note that when parental authority collides with 
the right of love on the part of the child, Shakespeare al- 
most universally decides in favor of the child, as in Shylock 
and Jessica. 

(b) The State. 

The object of the State is to secure justice among men; 
the State is above the Family; the Family may be invaded 
in order to preserve the State ; the husband and father 
may be torn from the Family to defend the State, hence 
the coUision of the State may be. 

First, with the individual or the family; 

Second ; it may be internal, that is, between political fac- 
tions ; 

Third ; it may be external, that is, with another State. 

These two ethical institutions, the State and Family, con- 
stitute the foundation of all of Shakespeare's plays and may 
be considered a basis for the classification of his dramas. 

(c) Property. 

A minor ethical institution is Property, which may be 
sordid as a principle, still it has its rights which may not 
be ruthlessly violated, as shown in the Merchant of Venice. 

(d) World Spirit. 

Above all these institutions stands what has been called 
The World-Historical-Spirit or World-Spirit. In the world's 
history, we see nations rise to great power and fall. Rome, 
from a small village on the Tiber, became the Mistress 
of the World. The victim of destructive influences, 



72 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

broken into fragments, she lost her place among nations ; 
here we see an ethical force at work above and greater than 
the State, calling the State into existence, and in turn blot- 
ting it out : this may be called the World- Spirit. 

Still another institution, which has been a great force in 
the world, is the Church ; of this only mere mention need be 
made, since Shakespeare deals with it only incidentally. 

2. Moral or Subjective. 

. The law of the Moral or Subjective division of Shakes- 
peare's Ethical Worldj is the subordination of the lower to 
the higher, which is the internal law of duty. "The indi- 
vidual has within himself, the absolute test of conduct, the 
law of conscience." Since men dififer in opinion, it will 
readily be seen that this law may conflict with institutions. 
This was illustrated in our American ante-bellum days, 
when the conscience of the Northern individual rebelled 
against the Southern institution of slavery, and in violation 
of the law of the State, he aided slaves in their escape to 
freedom. Now Shakespeare is decidedly institutional, and 
when the Moral collides with the Institution, the latter pre- 
vails as in Airs Well That Ends Well, morality is sacrificed 
in order to preserve the institution of the Family, and while 
we maintain that Shakespeare is a moral writer, still we can 
not help wishing that in this instance, he had found other 
means of securing the Family. As an institutional writer he 
is certainly moral. 

3. Negative Phase of the Ethical World. 

Both the Institutional and the Moral divisions of the 
Ethical World are positive. There is also a negative phase : 
the individual imbued with this spirit is hostile to both insti- 
tutions and morals, he is always a disturbing element and 
seems to be devoid of conscience ; first, we see the indifferent 
bad person ; he is governed only by his own bad passions and 



SHAKESPEARE'S ETHICAL WORLD 



73 



is utterly indifferent to both institutions and morals, and is 
constantly in collision with them ; murderers merely hired to 
kill, care nothing for the State nor for human life, they only 
care for the paltry sum of money offered as the price for the 
deed. Caliban seems utterly devoid of ethical principles. 
Second, the active bad person, who constantly plans the de- 
struction of both institutions and morals : in him we see the 
true villian. No better illustration can be cited than Richard 
III. To accomplish his own selfish purpose, he utterly dis- 
regards both institutions and morals, but as he would crush 
both, his deeds return upon his own head, and he goes out 
in ignominious death. For convenience we may tabulate a 
summary of these points in their ethical order : 



Positive 



Ethical World <{ 



r I 



Negative i 

[ 



Institutional 

( Objective) 

Subjective 

( Moral; 

Indifferent 
Bad Person 
2. Active 

Bad Person 



f I. World-Spirit 

I 2. State 

j 3. Family 

[^ 4. Property 



Law of 



Conscience 



Vill: 



I 



In working out the drama, these principles take posses- 
sion of the individual and become the mainspring of all his 
actions, and we see the Institutional person, the Moral per- 
son, and the Negative person ; these principles collide and 
the play begins. In the great Roman drama, Julius dssar, 
Cassius, the Institutional person, represents the old Roman 
spirit of oppostition to the one-man power. Opposed to him, 
is Csesar the Institutional person, embodying the spirit of 
the one-man power, the monarch of the State. These two 
collide and the play is started. 



74 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 



II 

Structure. 

Plot 

The plot consists of the successive steps in the plan by 
which the final result is worked out. The incidents consti- 
tuting these steps may be called incidents of plot. 
Incidents An incident by which an incident of plot is worked 
of Plot Q^j^ j^^y |-jg called an incident of story. Hamlet's 
5, father, King of Denmark, meets a mysterious death ; 

Hamlet suspects foul play, but there is no external 
evidence; the ghost of the dead man reveals the deed; this 
is an incident of plot. Claudius suspects that Hamlet thinks 
him guilty and hence that he is dangerous and must be put 
out of the way. How is it to be accomplished ? He will prove 
him insane, but how ? He will have Rosencrantz and Guilden- 
stern entrap him : their efforts to do so are incidents of story. 
The incident of the bond by which Shylock can claim a 
pound of Antonio's flesh in case he fails to pay the borrowed 
money when it becomes due^ is an incident of plot ; the love- 
making and the marriage of Gratiano and Nerissa are inci- 
dents of story. 

Sources of Plot 

Shakespeare, following the custom of his time, laid no 
claim to originality in the sources of his plots. In his Eng- 
Histori- -^^^^ historical series, he follows Holinshed's chron- 
cal icles more or less closely as suits his purpose, but it 

Plays must be borne in mind that Holinshed's chronicles 
are by no means reliable history, that the chronicles in some 
instances, contain more fable than actual history ; still, some- 
one has said that Shakespeare has done more than any other 
author towards making a knowledge of English history 



SOURCES OF PLOT 75 

widespread. While this may be true, we should remember 
that Shakespeare's object was primarily, to write a good 
Histori- di'ama, one which could be effectively played upon 
cal Inac- the English stage in his own time, and not to write 
curacy a history to be read and stand the test of critics as to 
accuracy; consequently dates, ages, situations, etc., are often 
greatly distorted. King John affords an excellent illustra- 
tion of this. It serves the dramatic purpose better to make 
Prince Arthur much younger than the Arthur of history. 
History tells us that when Portia heard of the death of 
Brutus she suffocated herself with hot coals ; in the drama, 
the close of the quarrel between Brutus and Cassius is made 
more pathetic by Brutus's announcement of Portia's death; 
"Oh Cassius ! I am sick of many griefs . . . Portia is 
dead . . . Impatient of my absence . . . she fell 
distract and swallowed fire." We may, however, safely rely 
upon Shakespeare for a picture of the manners, customs and 
characters of the times. The foreign plays follow North's 
Plutarch quite closely."^ 

The Legendary plays are nearly all based upon legends 
that were quite familiar in Shakespeare's time. Some think 
Legend- ^^^^ ^^^ P^^^ ^^ Love' s Labour's Lost, so far as it 
ary may be said to have a plot, is Shakespeare's own. 

Plays But it would seem that these sources were after all, 
only suggestive to the great dramatist; he changes the situ- 
ations, the characters and their motives to suit his own dra- 
matic purpose. lago, in the old story, kills Desdemona. 
Shakespeare makes her die at the hands of Othello; merely 
taking his cue from a legend, he revivifies the whole story 
giving it such new motives, life, and purpose, that the old 

*For excellent articles on this point, we would refer the stu- 
dent to Snider's Commentaries on the Histories, Hudson's Introduc- 
tion to King John, and Neilson's Introduction to Macbeth in the 
Lakeside Classics; (Scott, Foresman & Co.) 



76 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

is lost and he works out a play that is all his own. Snider 
says : "As in the Tragedies and Comedies, so also in the His- 
tories, Shakespeare takes his materials wherever he can lay 
his hands on them, in drama, chronicle, biography ; they are 
his by divine right of poetic seizure. He does not invent 
them any more than he invents the English language which 
he uses. He orders, transforms, deepens incidents and char- 
acters, plots are furnished him from the storehouse of Time, 
where lies also his inheritance ; these, he takes and trans- 
forms into poetry. His originality is shown in the right use 
of his materials ; his creative power is the poetic transfigur- 
ation of all that he touches."* 

Dramatic Structure 

Shakespeare's forces and characters work in groups ; 
these various groups work together for the accomplishment 
of a purpose; they work up to a climax, and then down to 
the close ; for convenience. Snider calls these groups and 
phases of action, Threads and Movements. 

The threads may vary in number and complexity, but 
for a good understanding of a play it is essential to get 
them fixed in the mind : the threads in Hamlet are 
easily traced. Claudius secretly kills his brother, 
the King, marries his widow and becomes King himself. He 
must conceal his deed. Hamlet suspects foul play ; his sus- 
picions are confirmed by the revelation of the ghost, who 
charges him to revenge the deed ; Claudius suspects that 
Hamlet suspects him, and the two are arrayed against each 
other, and the conflict begins. Hamlet and those who in any 
way sympathize with him or assist him in working out his 
purpose, constitute the Hamlet Thread ; the King and those 
who assist him in working out his purposes constitute the 
King's Thread ; according to their importance, these threads 

*Histories, Int, page V. 



DRAMATIC STRUCTURE 77 

naturally fall into groups. Polonius' work is quite different 
from that of a mere messenger who simply executes a com- 
mand of the king, hence he would fall in a leading group, 
while the messenger will be placed in a subordinate group. 
The King, Queen, the Polonius family, Rosencrantz and 
Guildenstern, etc., Osric (2nd movement), according to the 
character of their work, can be arranged in groups, a, b, c, 
etc. ; still another group that of the State, consists of the 
courtiers Voltimand and Cornelius, and any others whp only 
have to do with affairs of State, but have nothing whatever 
to do with anything relating to the deed which forms the 
basis of the drama. 

Romeo and Juliet — Principal Threads, Hatred and Love. 

{Montagues / . r ., 

, ) Destroyers of Institutions; both of Family 

Capl"lets \ ^^^ ^'^'' 

{ Builders of Institutions by union 

Romeo, a Montague I ^i 11 u 4. ui- u ^.v. 

' ^ ^ I through love, would establish the 

Family, thus harmony would be re- 

' ^ I stored to the State 

3. The State, represented by the Prince. This thread 
though not prominent, is not unimportant ; the Prince only 
appears three times, but always as a mediator trying to rec- 
oncile the discord between the two houses ; this thread is 
finely interwoven with the two principal threads. Hatred is 
so intense that it places itself above Institutions ; it would 
destroy the Family, and even the State to satisfy its enmity. 
Love represented by Romeo and Juliet, a Montague and a 
Capulet, of the younger generation, is so intense that it over- 
comes the hatred of the ancient houses and establishes the 
Family. In the end the Love thread triumphs ; for while 
the individuals are sacrificed, in the presence of the dead 
bodies of Romeo and Juliet, the heads of the ancient houses 
become reconciled ; the third thread, that of the Prince, here 



2. Love \ and \ 



78 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

weaves as a connecting link, into the two principal threads. 

Prince. Where be these enemies ? Capulet ! Montague ! 

See, what scourge is laid upon your hate, 

That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love! 
Capulet. O brother Montague, give me thy hand: 

This my daughter's jointure, for no more 

Can I demand. 
Mon. But I can give thee more : 

For I will raise her statue in pure gold; 

The whiles Verona by that name is known. 

There shall no figure at such rate be set 

As that of true and faithful Juliet. 
Cap. As rich shall Romeo's by his lady's lie; 

Poor sacrifices of our emnity! 

In each of the threads may be traced subordinate groups 
consisting of those who assist in carrying out the plans of 
the leaders. 

Movements 

Through the first phase of action in Hamlet, the King 
is continually trying by various means to find out to what 
pjj.g^ extent Hamlet is dangerous ; he determines that his 
Move- safety lies only in getting rid of his brother's son ; 
ment he must now add a second crime to the first, but 
here conscience not being entirely smothered, he must pause ; 
he is confronted with his original deed, (Act III, Scene 3.) 
He discusses repentance, of which he has a true conception; 
true repentance would necessitate the giving up of all that 
he had gained by his deed; his crown, his queen; all this 
he decides he cannot do. He can then only plunge deeper 
into crime, in order to make himself secure ; this decision 
constitutes the climax for the King and of the play, for he 
is the doer of the deed; just at this point Hamlet kills 
Polonius, and becomes a guilty individual himself. When 
he sees an opportunity to kill the King, he cannot do so, and 
thus he reaches his climax; this then, constitutes the first 



DRAMATIC STRUCTURE 79 

Second Movement or Guilt. The consequences of the King's 
Move- decision or the Retribution, now follow and work on 
ment to the close, where in the final grand tragedy, the 
guilty suffer the penalty of their own deeds : this constitutes 
the second Movement. 

Macbeth, through the entire play, is apparently domin- 
ated by the supernatural element in the form of the Weird 
Sisters ; this supernatural world opens the play. Macbeth 
at once responds to their touch, their prophetic suggestions 
urge him on. We get the real spirit and motive of the play, 
better by considering the Threads to consist of the natural 
and the supernatural worlds. They seem in conflict, 
throughout. The first Movement or Guilt, works up to a 
climax in Act III, Scene 4, where Macbeth in despair de- 
termines to again consult the Weird Sisters. He is con- 
fronted by his deed and decides that, 

"I am in blood 
Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more, 
Returning were as tedious as go o'er 

We are yet young in deed." 

He will consult the Weird Sisters. He falls under the 
spell of Hecate, the Queen of the witches, and the second 
movement is worked out. From these illustrations we may 
derive our definitions. 

Dramatic Threads are groups of forces or characters, 
working together through one phase of action to accomplish 
a common purpose. 

Dramatic Movement is the dramatic conflict of the var- 
ious threads working through one phase of action to a cli- 
max, where there is a change of thought or purpose. 

There may be two or more Movements with two or more 
Threads in each ; the final Movement works out harmony in 
the final solution. In general, Shakespeare's Tragedies re- 



80 



STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 



quire two Movements, Guilt and Retribution, while the 
Comedies move through three phases of action, requiring 
three movements, 1, Collision or Separation; 2, Mediation; 
3, Return or Solution. 

Mechanical Structure 

Besides this dramatic structure a play has what may be 
termed the frame-work of acts and scenes. The various 
Frame- steps in the development of the plot gives rise to 
work the division into acts. All of Shakespeare's plays 
contain five acts. These have been described by the signifi- 
cant terms : Exposition, Growth, Climax, Consequence, and 
Close. 

The situation is given. 
The principal characters are introduced. 
A ^ I Key-notes of characters given. 

ExDosition ^^ ^^^ usually determine their office or dramatic 

purpose in the play. 
Ground work of the plot is laid. , 
Leading threads may be determined. 

Plot is more fully developed. 
Act II Characters more fully developed. 

Growth Motives revealed. 

New characters often introduced. 



Act 
III 



Turning point of the play. 

First movement worked out in Tragedy or Tragi- 
comedy. Plot works up to a crisis where the 
guilty individual must face his own deed. Re- 
pentance is offered. If he repent, the seeming 
Tragedy is turned to a Comedy. Example — 
Winter's Tale, Act III, Scene 3, Repentance of 
Leontes. If he does not repent, he must go on 
to the bitter end and the play is Tragedy. This 
ends the first movement. 




-CLI 



MAI 



ay convicts ^'^^ 



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fie'/a th/'nks Mam ' 
- in 5 An e. 
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70nvtct -tl'.Dy 

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L_a,er'te5 retij.T*n 
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VVitn esses heT'l 
condition 



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Hovd,'tio. 



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Ghost -revea's the. 
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to revend^ 



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Hamfet arid Horatio 
appea-T' ^ 
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Se'i Std^HQ-'l&tio.^ 

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Queen ^f^'inks pois- 
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L, exposes plot. 
amTet Sta'bs Kind. 



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ark 



Act IV 



DRAMATIC STRUCTURE 81 

This act works out the consequences of the re- 
sults of the decision in Act III. 

New characters may be introduced to work out 
the second movement. In Hamlet^ Laertes 
Consequences ^^^^^ ^^^ p^^^^ ^^ Polonius. In Tragedy, the 

guilty doer of the deed plunges deeper and 
deeper into crime. 

The plot works to the final close : justice prevails, 
the discordant element is destroyed : harmony 
Act V is restored either through the destruction of 

Close the individual as in Tragedy, or through con- 

formity to the laws of the Ethical World in 
Comedy. 

A change of place naturally divides the acts into scenes. 

Originally, in some of Shakespeare's earliest plays there 

„ were no scenes, doubtless because of the barrenness 

Scenes 

of the stage. As stage scenery was introduced, the 
plays were recast and arranged in scenes. In a few in- 
stances, the arrangement of the scenes in acts differ in dif- 
ferent editions. In Hamlet, Hudson places seven scenes in 
Act III and four in Act IV^, while Rolfe puts four in Act III 
and seven in Act IV. We prefer the latter arrangement, as 
the first movement evidently closes with the closet scene. A 
graphic illustration of the plot brings it out vividly ; one of 
Hamlet is here presented. 

Classification 

Shakespeare's dramas are frequently classified chrono- 
logically, thereby showing his mental growth and why some 
of his plays are so much deeper and more perfect than 
others. Dowden's classification has previously been given. 
Since we are studying these plays from a dramatic stand- 
point we shall follow Snider through the old classification 
of Tragedy, Comedy and History. 



82 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

Legendary or Romantic, and Historical 

The Drama proper portrays life; it shows man working" 
out his own destiny according to the Divine Order. It must 
6e universal ; and while incidentally it must be given time 
and place, it cannot be hampered by time and place, neither 
can it be limited by historical fact; while the life of 
nations offers a tempting field for the dramatist, it 
by no means satisfies the province of the drama. We have 
seen that for the basis of his plots, Shakespeare selects either 
some old legend or romance or some story from history, 
hence his plays naturally fall under the general heads of 
Legendary or Romantic, and Historical. Omitting Pericles, 
since its authenticity is so greatly questioned, there are 
twenty-one Legendary and fifteen Historical plays. 

L Legendary 

The Legendary Plays are based chiefly upon legend, 
still legend is frequently so blended with historical fact 
that the form of the play and the manner of treatment 
must to some extent, determine its place. Macbeth has a 
partial basis of history but the manner of treatment places it 
with the Legendary Plays. As the Legendary is to portray 
the life of man, it is essentially domestic, and in general the 
collision is primarily in the Family with the State in the 
background. In Hamlet, one might at first question this 
point, since the murdered man was not only husband and 
father but King, but Hamlet himself treats the collision as 
domestic. He is trying to revenge the death of his father, 
rather than the death of the King of Denmark. He con- 
stantly grieves over the conduct of Gertrude because she is 
a woman and his mother, not because she is Queen of Den- 
mark. 

The Legendary drama is not limited by time and has a 
tendency to complete itself in a single play ; the termination 



HISTORICAL DRAMA 83 

is quite definite, the individual works out the result of his 
own deed, and in the end perishes or is saved through medi- 
ation, and .the play has either a tragic ending or a happy one. 

11. Historical 

''The Historical drama is the drama of nationality: it 
deals with the institutions of the State ; and for its material 
Histor- looks to the records of the nation and to the deeds 
ical of the national heroes ; hence the emotion to which 

it appeals is patriotism." The Historical drama then, is 
based upon historical fact, the collision is in the State with 
the Family in the background ; it is necessarily limited by 
time and place and only as it manifests the World-Spirit can 
it be considered universal. As it deals with the life of the 
State, the complete drama may require more than a single 
play, as, the Lancastrian and Yorkian tetralogies require a 
consecutive series ; again the termination is often double, 
Tragedy and Comedy combined, one party fails, the other 
succeeds. 

Since the law of history does not always coincide with 
the law of the drama, we must expect the structure of the 
Historical drama to be somewhat looser than that of 
the Legendary drama; however, since there is al- 
ways conflict, threads can be readily traced, and usually a 
little study will reveal the movements, although the climax 
is not always quite so evident. In King John we readily 
trace the English thread and the French thread. In the first 
movement the conflict is external; England is victorious 
over France; in Arthur in England, John sees a foe to his 
crown and the struggle is now internal, the motive changes 
and the second movement begins. In Julius CcEsar the first 
movement shows the internal conflict in Rome and the 
struggle against the man Caesar ; the man out of the way, in 
the second movement the conflict is external and against the 



84 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

spirit of Caesar. Just before he falls on his sword Brutus 
exclaims, 

"O Julius Caesar thou art mighty yet, 

Thy spirit walks abroad and turns our swords 

Into our own proper entrails." 

The Legendary and Historical are so closely related that 
there may be a difference of opinion as to exactly where the 
line is to be drawn. The old Roman story of Coriolanus is 
probably a myth, but the theme of the drama is political and 
represents an epoch of Roman history, and is treated in a 
political way, and it is readily seen that the Family is sacri- 
. , ficed for the State. Snider says, "The chief char- 
Charac- acteristic of the Historical drama is that it rises 
teristic of above the mere individual and shows the guilt and 
HIstoricalpunishment of whole nations and whole epochs. 
Drama ^j^^g nianifesting how the deed in history returns 
to the land with a whip of scorpions, even after the lapse of 
generations." 

The difference between Legendary and Historical 
dramas shows that it is the Legendary which gives rise to 
true Tragedy and Comedy ; according to the law of 
^ the Ethical World, which is also the law of the 
Drama, discord must be destroyed and harmony restored. 
This may come about in two ways : if the motive of the foul 
deed so takes possession of the guilty doer that he pursues 
his purpose to the bitter end, that end must bring death to 
him. Nemesis follows him, his deed must return upon his 
head, and the play becomes Tragedy. If, however, when 
brought fact to face with his deed, he sees it in all its 
enormity and repents, he need not perish ; harmony is re- 
stored without the necessity of the death of the individual ; 
the discordant principle is destroyed while the indi- 
vidual is saved, and the play turns to Comedy ; hence 
we see that the principle of Comedy is mediation, which 



COMEDY 85 

implies salvation; this principle constitutes the real differ- 
ence between Tragedy and true Comedy. ''The best thought 
of the modern world is salvation which springs from the 
mediatorial spirit." Comedy, then, in a way, may be as ser- 
ious as Tragedy, and the term must not be interpreted as 
synonymous with comical in its limited sense of ''funny ;" 
farcical it may be, but that is only a light phase of Comedy. 
In both Tragedy and Comedy the conflict is double, in- 
ternal as well as external. In the internal conflict when the 
Conflict individual passes through that "sorrow of the soul" 
Double which results in that true repentance which drives 
him to forsake sin and rise from the conflict glorified, we 
have Comedy. 

Hamlet says to Horatio, 

"Thou hast been as one, 
In suffering all, that suffers nothing, 
A man that Fortune's buffets and rewards 
Hath ta'en with equal thanks." 

A man who had fought the battles of life and had come 
out triumphant over all, in short a perfect, mediated charac- 
ter — man redeemed. 

When King Claudius is passing through this internal 
conflict, he discusses repentance and thoroughly compre- 
King hends what it signifies when he says, 

Claudius' ..t- <• i j -> 

rorgive me my foul murder? 

That cannot be ; since I am still possessed 

Of those effects for which I did the murder, 

My crown, mine own ambition, and my Queen. 

May one be pardoned and still retain th' offence? 

Try what repentance can? what can it not? 
Yet what can it when one cannot repent?" 

and so he moves on to death ; had he repented and made res- 
toration, the play would have turned to Comedy. 



86 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

This serious phase of Comedy portrays harmony dis- 
turbed by foul deeds, but restored through the struggle 
First which ends in repentance and forgiveness. 
Phase A second phase of comedy does not imply crime ; 

harmony may be disturbed through caprice or folly which 
Second may be disciplined out of a man, and thus harmony 
Phase is restored. In All's Well, Bertram is disciplined 
out of his caprice and the family relation is restored. 

A third phase of Comedy shows the individual as the 
victim of blunder or misunderstanding, and harmony is re- 
Third stored by having the ethical atmosphere cleared of 
Phase the confusion arising therefrom, as in the Comedy 
of Errors, where all the trouble arises through mistaken 
identity ; of course the situations are comical in the extreme ; 
we can say that this phase gives rise to the modern farce, 
where comedy becomes indeed ''comic" in the present sense 
of the word. In all cases harmony is restored without the 
destruction of the individual. 

According to the basis of the action, we have Comedy of 

Character and Comedy of Situation; the first is subjective, 

having its origin in the mind; the second is ohjec- 

, five, having- its origin in external conditions or situ- 
ter and , ' *=> ,^ . 

Situation ations. The audience is supposed to understand 
the situations, while the individual may, or may not, 

understand them ; the voluntary individual does understand 

them and carries his part through, joining the audience in 

the laugh. 

As in Tragedy, so in Comedy there is collision or conflict ; 

the movernent through this action is carried on by means 
of threads and movements. The comic individual 

Comic ^^^ j^jg assistants forming one thread; his oppon- 
ents usually grouping about a central figure, another 

Structure thread ; always two and sometimes more threads 
may be traced ; these threads move through one 



LEGENDARY DRAMA: CLASSIFICATION 87 

phase of action, the colUsion, which constitutes the iirst 
movement. Mediation now steps in and a transition to an- 
other phase of action takes place, and we have a second 
movement ; mediation accomphshed, we meet its results 
worked out in a third movement or solution, in which all 
discordant elements disappear and harmony is restored; 
broken families are restored as in Comedy of Errors; de- 
lusions vanish, Midsummer Night's Dream; blunders and 
errors are rectified, Winter's Tale. In some instances all of 
these points combine in one play. We may trace Nemesis in 
Comedy as well as in Trag^edy, where we also see both pun- 
ishments and rewards. The outcome of Comedy is "the 
destruction not of the individual, but of his deceptions, and 
the dissolution of his whims and absurdities." 

I. Legendary Drama: Classification 

Both Tragedy and Comedy contain natural or real ele- 
ments brought into play with the supernatural or ideal ele- 
ments ; this gives rise to the division of the play into Real 
and Ideal. 

(a) Tragedy. 

When the motives and actions are confined to the natural 

or real world, as in Romeo and Juliet, we have Real 
Real ^ J 

i ragedy. 

"When Tragedy seeks the realm of the supernatural in 
order to express and develop the motives of the tragic in- 
dividual we term the play Ideal." The ghost urges 

Trjpo] 

Hamlet to action and pushes him on. Macbeth is 
constantly under the spell of the Weird Sisters. 

(b) Comedy. 

1. In Comedy mediation may be confined to the real or 
natural world, as, Portia in the Merchant of Venice saves 
Real and Antonio in the realm of real life where the conflict 
Ideal takes place; while in As You Like It, in the ideal 



88 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

realm of the Forest of Arden, all discordant elements 
disappear, all become reconciled and harmony is restored, 
then all return to the real or institutional world. 

2. Pure and Tragi-Comedy. 

Comedy of Situation and Comedy of Character give rise 
to Pure Comedy and Tragi-Comedy. 

Sometimes the humorous or comic prevails altogether; 
the individual through accident, caprice or folly becomes en- 
tangled in a maze of difficult or ridiculous situa- 
tions, without any crime or real guilt ; this gives rise 
to Pure Comedy. 

When a dark thread of guilt runs through the first 
movement, but the mind and the hand of the prospective 
Tragi- criminal are arrested, mediation enters, and that 
Comedy ^hich at the outset promised Tragedy, is converted 
into Comedy ; sometimes that which began in folly deepens 
to crime and the outlook is tragic, mediation steps in and 
saves the individual ; thus we have Tragi-Comedy. 

The climax shows whether the guilty doer of the deed 
will repent and determines the play to be Tragedy or Tragi- 
Comedy. The middle movement shows whether mediation 
takes place in the Real or in the Ideal realm, and determines 
the Comedy to be Real or Ideal ; the threads show whether 
it is Pure or Tragi-Comedy ; one dark thread of guilt throws 
the play out of the realm of Pure Comedy. This classifica- 
tion may be tabulated as follows : 



I . Legendary 



Tragedy \ 



Real 
Ideal 



Real ] 



Pure 

r^ 1 J ^"*''^'*' ] Tragi- Comedy 
Comedy <i p„^j^ ^ 



J J J J Pure 
[ \ Tragi-Comedy 



II. Historical: Classification 

Shakespeare did not write his historical plays in chron- 
ological order ; he most naturally began with an epoch in 



HISTORICAL DRAMA: CLASSIFICATION 89 

Classifi- the life of his own nation ; catching- the World- 
cation Spirit he went back in time into the world's history, 
and the Roman plays are the result ; we see that he recog- 
nized the continuity of history and we classify the historical 
plays in chronological order. At first it seems a little dif- 
ficult to know just where to place Troihis and Cressida. The 
basis of the drama is the Trojan War, and Homer's story is 
legend ; some would make Homer himself a myth, but how 
feeble would be our understanding of the Grecian heart and 
mind of the heroic age without the Homeric stories ; in them 
we feel the pulse of early Greek life and history, and thus 
Snider very appropriately considers this play as the con- 
necting link between the Legendary and Historical plays; 
then follows the Roman series in their order. The proper 
place for Titus Andronicus has also been questioned; in- 
deed some consider the authorship so very doubtful that 
they would throw it out altogether ; accepting it as 
Shakespeare's work, where shall we place it? Snider says, 
'Tts historical setting is manifest, — the action occurs in an 
historical state, in an historical period, amid a great histori- 
cal conflict; yet the history as such seems to be wholly leg- 
endary. But the political element equals, if it does not over- 
top, the domestic element ; this is the essential test of an his- 
torical play. After all that may be said against it, the play 
of Titus Andronicus, with its accumulated horrors, gives a 
true reflex idea of the end of Roman History." 

Ulrici devotes twenty pages to the discussion of the au- 
thenticity of Pericles, and still one is left with a feeling of 
doubt as to whether Shakespeare's work on the play was 
more than a slight retouching of an old drama. Coleridge's 
notes on the dififerent plays do not include Pericles. Snider 
considers the evidence of Shakespeare's work so doubtful 
that he rejects the play. With these explanations we give 
Snider's classification and leave the student to apply the 



90 



STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 



principles and determine for himself whether they justify 
this arrangement. 

Classification of Shakespeare's Dramas. 
36 plays. 

Timon of Athens j Collision -j Property 

Romeo and i <-, ir ■ '■ -c -i i 

T 1- ^ 1 Collision i l^amily: lovers 
Juliet i \ ■' 

•\ r\.\. 11 f r-i II- • f Family: husband 
' Othel o ■{ Collision^ , ^-r 
t I and wire 

( ( Family; parent 

King Lear - Collision -< and child; sis- 

( f ter against sister 

r A/ro^K«.K i Supernatural f Weird Sisters 

Element \ start action 



Tragedy 
6 



Real 



Ideal 



Macbeth 



Hamlet 



Supernatural 
Element 



Ghost starts 
action 



Legendary ^ 

21 



Comedy 
15 



Real 


7 
1 


J ' 


Ideal J 

8 " 


1 



f Comedy of Errors 



Pure J Taming of the Shrew 



Tragi- 
comedy 
3 

Pure 
4 

Tragi- 
comedy 
4 



Twelfth Night 
[ Merry Wives of Windsor 

Much Ado About Nothing 

All's Well that Ends Well 

Merchant of Venice 
f Love's Labour's Lost 
J Two Gentlemen of Verona 
1 As You Like It 
[Midsummer Night's Dream 
( Measure for Measure 
J Winter's Tale 
I Cymbeline 
t The Tempest 



Greek 
I 



Historical 
15 



( Troilus 

Transition to Historical Drama ■ and 

( Cressida 

■r> f Prologue Coriolanus 

Roman t? % ur r t i- r^ 
,rj^ . ,j trom Republic j Julius Caesar 

4 



\ 



I to Empire \ Antony and Cleopatra 
L Epilogue Titus Andronicus 



English 
Mediated) \ 

10 j 



r Prologue King John 

[ Richard II 
Lancastrian Tetralogy-] Henry IV 2 parts 
( Henry V 

Yorkian Tetralogy ] rjX^JiVi ^^''' 
Epilogue Henry VIII 



SUMMARY 91 

Summary 

A summary of the preceding statements, in their appli- 
cation to individual plays, may be helpful to the student. 

Drama 

1. That form of Hterature which represents man in 
action. 

2. Shows man his deed in the form of the deed itself. 

3. Makes man a responsible being controlled by the 
law of conscience. Hence — 

4. Law: The deed returns upon the doer. (Nemesis.) 

I. Legendary 

1. Based chiefly upon legend. 

2. Unlimited by time, place or historical fact. Hence 

3. Free in plot and incident. 

4. Deals with the life of man. Hence — 

5. Collision : Domestic — In the Family, State in the 
background. 

6. Complete in a single drama. 

n. Historical 

1. Based upon historical fact or historical legend. Hence 

2. Limited by time and place, also by plot and incident. 

3. Deals with the life of the State. Hence — 

4. Collision in the State ; Family in the background. 

5. May require a series of plays to complete the drama : 
termination often double. Structure looser than the leg- 
endary drama. 

Legendary 
L Tragedy 

1. Ends in the death of the guilty individual. 

2. The deed contains within it the elements of death. 



92 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

Hence — 

3. His death springs from his own deed. 

4. Subjective, — something from within brings him to 
destruction ; he cHngs to his deed, and, hence — 

5. Harmony can be restored only by the destruction of 
the discordant element or individual. 

6. Law: Tragedy declares that man must live in ac- 
cordance with the principles of the Ethical World or perish, 

(a) Real: Confined to the realm of real or natural life: 
Romeo and Juliet. 

(b) Ideal: Seeks the realm of the supernatural in or- 
der to express and develop the motives of the tragic indi- 
vidual: Macbeth (Weird Sisters.) 

n. Comedy 

1. That form of the drama into which the element of 
mediation enters, and, hence — 

2. The individual is saved by conforming to the law 
of the Ethical World. 

3. Harmony is restored without the necessity of the 
destruction of the individual. 

4. Law : Comedy declares that man having once vio- 
lated the principles of the Ethical World may through 
mediation, be restored to harmony and live. 

(a) Real: 

1. Society in a state of conflict ; individuals collide in 
support of an ethical principle or in violation of it. 

2. Harmony restored through mediation in the sphere 
of real life : Portia rescues Antonio in the court room. 

(b) Ideal: 

1. Conflict, as in Real Comedy. 

2. Mediation takes place in an ideal realm where con- 
flict does not exist: Forest of Arden in As You Like It; 



SUMMARY 93 

all discords vanish ; when harmony is restored, all may re- 
turn to the Institutional World. 

(c) Pure Comedy: 

1. The individual is given over to outer accident or 
chance, or to inner accident or caprice ; follows his whim 
rather than his reason. 

2. Conflict with the rational world disciplines him out 
of his folly and restores him in a harmonious way : Comedy 
of Errors and Twelfth Night. 

(d) Tragi-Comedy : 

1. Folly deepens to violence, caprice sinks to guilt; the 
outlook is tragic; the individual must perish unless he un- 
dergoes a spiritual change. 

2. The element of mediation enters and saves the in- 
dividual, also saves the play from becoming Tragedy: Mer- 
chant of Venice, (Real), Winter's Tale (Ideal). 

Mediation may be effected through the repentance of the 
individual or through the intervention of another, or medi- 
ator. 

The nature of the threads determines whether the Com- 
edy is Pure or Tragi-Comedy; a dark thread of guilt pro- 
duces Tragi-Comedy; if all threads show only folly or mis- 
takes we have the Comic only. 

The nature of the middle movement, or mediation de- 
termines the play to be Real or Ideal. 

In Tragedy or Tragi-Comedy the climax determines the 
play to be Tragedy or Comedy. 

Questions on the Text of I and II. 
The Drama 

1. Define the Drama and state why it has proved last- 
ing. 

2. What was the origin of the Drama ? 



94 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

3. Define the Ethical World. State its three laws. 

4. Define Nemesis. 

The English Drama. 

1. State its origin. 

2. Through what three stages may its development be 
traced? Describe each. 

3. What was the object of each of these forms? 

4. Why must the Modern Drama combine the princi- 
ples of each of these three forms? 

5. Who was the first writer of the Interlude and when 
did he live? 

6. What was the first real Comedy? When and by 
whom written? 

7. What does Sir Philip Sidney say of the manner of 

the presentation of a play in his own time? When did he 

live ? 

The Theatre in Shakespeare's Time. 

1. Where were the theatres located? Why? 

2. Describe the theatre and the manner of presenting 
a play. 

3. Name the two classes of theatres and their points of 
difference. 

4. What was called Shakespeare's Theatre, and to 
which class did it belong? 

5. When and by whom was movable scenery first intro- 
duced ? 

6. Where does Shakespeare express his ideas of a cor- 
rect performance? 

7. Who were the three most prominent of Shakes- 
peare's senior contemporaries ? How did they compare with 
him in education and character? 

8. State briefly the condition of the Drama in England 
when Shakespeare began his dramatic career. 



QUESTIONS: SHAKESPEARE 95 

Life of Shakespeare. 

1. To what extent do we know the absolute facts of 
Shakespeare's life? State authorities. Account for the pro- 
fuse allusions to nature in his works. 

2. About when did he leave Stratford for London, and 
what is really known of his first few years there? 

3. About when did he begin to establish a reputation, 
and what was the character of his first work as a play- 
wright? What were the existing customs concerning play- 
writing ? 

4. What business ability did he display? 

5. Where did he spend his later years ? Where was he 
buried, and how do you account for the fact that his re- 
mains have never been removed to Westminster, there to 
repose with England's famous dead? 

6. In what condition was his literary work left at his 
death? When was the first folio (complete collected works) 
published ? 

7. About what time were his most serious and profound 
works written? Name four of these dramas. Were his 
last plays Tragedy or Comedy? Name four of his latest 
plays. 

8. Why is he conceded to be the greatest dramatist of 
all ages and peoples? 

9. According to Saintsbury, what are three distinguish- 
ing points in Shakespeare ? 

10. What three distinct purposes? 

11. How do you account for what sometimes seems to 
us a vein of coarseness in his plays? 

12. What was Shakespeare's contribution to dramatic 
art? 

Characterisation 

1. Name his strong points in characterization. 

2. Are his women strong or weak? 



96 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

3. What can you say of his weak characters? 

4. Is he a character builder in the sense of the mod- 
ern novel? 

5. How has his wonderful insight into character of all 
kinds been accounted for ? 

Morals and Religion 

1. What is the general moral tone of Shakespeare's 
plays? In what light does he paint vice? 

2. What is the final outcome of Falstaff's life? 

3. What stamp does Antony put upon his own char- 
acter ? 

4. What is Coleridge's estimate of the morality of 
Shakespeare's works? 

5. What are the evidences that he was familiar with 
the Bible? 

6. Mention some religious views expressed in his 
plays. 

7. What can you say of his aptness in the use of the 
Bible? 

8. What did Shakespeare do for the moral tone of the 
Drama ? 

Supernatural Element 

1. What use does Shakespeare make of the prevailing 
beliefs in the supernatural? 

2. Can you distinguish between his use of the super- 
natural as a motive and as an embellishment? Which is the 
Weird Sisters in Machethf Read Midsummer Night's 
Dream with this point in view. 

3. What forms of the supernatural are found in his 
plays? As you read, see if you find any instances where 
you think this element is used to excite fear. 

4. What can you say of the supernatural as a motive 
power? 

5. State Mr. Moulton's three propositions. 

6. Give his summary. 



PRINCIPLES OF THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 97 

Humor 

1. To what extent does humor prevail in Shakespeare's 
plays ? 

2. What seems to be his motive in its use? 

3. What is the character of both his wit and his humor? 

4. How does he show the effects of this element when 
carried to excess in the case of Falstaff ? 

Music 

1. How does Shakespeare show his own appreciation 
of Music? Notice the use which he makes of it in his dif- 
ferent plays. 

2. How is the effect of music shown in The Merchant 
of Venice? 

Universal Knowledge 

1. What evidences do his works show of a knowledge 
of Law? 

3. Of the Human Mechanism from a medical stand- 
point ? 

3. Of Physical Science? 

-t. Of Plant-Hfe? Of Animal-Hfe? 

5. Of Typography? 

6. What is said of Shakespeare's vocabulary ? 

Principles of the Shakespearean Drama 

1. State the ethical principles of the Shakespearean 
Drama. 

2. Give the principles of Shakespeare's Ethical World. 

3. Give the plan, grand divisions ; define. 

4. With what principal institutions does he deal? 

5. State what you can of the Family as a leading in- 
stitution in his plays. 

6. Of the State. 

7. Define the W orld-Historical Spirit or World-Spirit. 
Illustrate. 

8. Explain the moral or subjective division of Shakes- 
peare's Ethical World. Give the law. 

9. What is the negative phase? Name and describe 
the different classes of individuals. 



98 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

Structure 
Define plot; incidents of plot; incidents of story. 

Sources of Plot 

1. What are Shakespeare's chief sources of plot in the 
Historical plays? How does he treat history? 

2. Sources of plot in the Legendary plays? 

3. How does he handle his material? 

4. Is there any evidence that any of his plots are orig- 
inal? 

5. In what does his originality consist? 

Dramatic Structure 

1. Define and illustrate Threads and Movements. 

2. In general, how many movements in Tragedy? 
Name them. Illustrate. 

3. Name and define the movements in Comedy. 

Mechanical Structure 

1. What may be considered the framework of a play? 
What gives rise to the division into Acts? Into Scenes? 

2. How many Acts in all of Shakespeare's plays? 
Name them and state what is accomplished in each. 

Classification 

1. Define the Historical Drama. 

2. Define the Legendary; compare the two. 

3. Define Tragedy. State its law. 

4. Define Comedy. State its different phases. 

5. State the principle of Comedy. 

6. What constitutes the difference between Tragedy 
and Tragi-Comedy ? 

7. What point determines it and where found? 

8. What do you understand by the term Mediation? 

9. Define the Real and Ideal in both Tragedy and 
Comedy. Illustrate. 

10. Define and compare Pure and Tragi-Comedy. Il- 
lustrate. 

11. In classifying a play as historical must it be abso- 
lute history? 

12. What will you look for in a play to enable you to 
classify it? 



Ill 

THE STUDY OF SHAKESPEARE 



I 

Suggestions for Study 

One may enjoy a picture without knowing the principles 
of art, or a selection from Wagner without understanding 
the principles of music, but the true appreciation which 
gives a joy at times rising to ecstacy, is granted only to 
those who imderstand the principles upon which the art is 
based, — that which makes the wonderful production pos- 
sible. 

So one may enjoy Shakespeare, in a way, without 
knowing the principles of dramatic art, by simply giving 
his plays a casual reading; but the wonders of the great 
dramatist open understandingly, only to the mind of him 
who is interested enough to give the individual plays a care- 
ful and thorough study. 

Lawyers read Shakespeare for law; physicians for med- 
ical science ; statesmen for lessons in statesmanship ; theo- 
Shake- logians may here find the theory of salvation; 
speare s rhetoricians may learn how to write ; orators may 
tility study their art ; society may find its standard of 
conduct; women may find the standard of true wifehood 
and womanhood. To know Shakespeare is to know man; 
to know society in all its grades and phases ; in fact to know 
the world ; then is it not worth while to make a careful 
study of this Prince of Authors? 

To beginners we would suggest, begin by reading some 
of the lighter comedies, as, Love's Labour's Lost, As You 
Like It, etc., simply to get interested in Shakespeare and to 

99 

LcfC. 



100 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

become familiar with his style, etc. If you can appreciate 
the play better by reading the story first and learning some- 
thing of the characters, by all means do so. Lamb's Tales 
from Shakespeare tell the stories of the legendary plays. 

If you would know Shakespeare, even a little, make 
a thorough study of a few of the stronger plays, 
The Merchant of Venice, Julius Ccssar, Hamlet, etc. 
Once having made this study, you can get very much 
more out of other plays by a mere reading. Whether you 
pursue this more thorough study further with other plays, 
will depend largely upon how greatly interested you have 
become in the work, and somewhat upon the time which 
you can devote to the study. Professor William Taylor 
Thorn says, "For a class of boys or girls, I hold that the 
most effectual and rapid and profitable method of studying 
Shakespeare, is for them to learn one play as thoroughly as 
their teacher can make them do it. Then they can read 
other plays with a profit and a pleasure unknown and un- 
knowable without such a previous drill and study." 

Some suggestions may be given to aid in the study of 
an individual play, but even these must be modified some- 
what to suit different plays, and the different classes of 
plays. Tragedy, Comedy, Historical. Also, the plays of 
Shakespeare's early years, as a whole, are much looser in 
structure than those of his riper years. In this outline of 
study we make no attempt to construct a Procrustean bed to 
which every play must be fitted, but only to make sugges- 
tions which may be helpful to pupils, and to teachers whose 
time is over crowded, or to those studying withbut a 
teacher. 

The Study of an Individual Play. 

1. Provide yourself with a note book and blank book 
for written analysis outline. 



THE STUDY OF AN INDIVIDUAL PLAY 101 

2. A diagram showing the entrance and exits of the 
characters is a great aid in getting a grasp on the entire 
play ; it should be made in full at the beginning of the study 
and the names entered and followed out, as they appear in 
the play ; the vertical columns show the characters ■ in each 
scene ; the horizontal lines trace them through the entire 
play ; the lines by their length indicate approximately the 
time each character is in the scene. To illustrate, the fol- 
lowing diagram carries the characters in the Merchant of 
Venice through two acts. 

3. Read the play through carefully, for pleasure and 
to get the story, cast of characters and situations. We 
would not advise entering the names in the diagram until 
the second reading. 

4. Classify the play, in each case giving your reasons. 
Your first reading will doubtless enable you to do this. 



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102 



THE STUDY OF AN INDIVIDUAL PLAY 



103 



Illustration — Merchant of Venice. 

1. Legendary; state why? 

2. Comedy; state why? 

3. Real; state why? 

4. Tragi-Comedy ; state why? 

5. State the theme of the play? 

6. Give legendary source of plot? 

7. Scenes of action (Where did the principal scenes 
of action take place?) 

8. Class of society chiefly involved? 

9. Time, or probable time? 

10. Basis of the play, Bassanio's indebtedness. 

f r Between the right of 

I Ethical S property and the exist- 
/-. n-^j Cence of the individual 

I r Between Shylock and 

I Objective -j Antonio; Antonio's bond 
L t to the Jew. 



II. Action^ 



L 



Media- ( Antonio saved by Portia, the repre- 

torial -j sentative of the family. Family es- 

Action ( tablished by Antonio's money. 

r) r • ( Conflict, betweenthepracticalJewish 
Kehgious ) u J 1 • 1 r-ii • • 

n £i- ^ "^ world and the practical Christian 
L/Onrlict i u r i • 

( world ot the time. 



104 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 



First Movement: 
Conflict — Property; Love; Religion. 



12. Dramatic 
Structure 



1st 

Th read 

Property 

Conflict 

2nd 

Th read 

Love 

Conflict 

Three 

phases, 

Portia 

Jessica 

Nerissa 



I 
I 
I 

\ 

I 



(<3;) Antonio, Bassanio 
(<^) Salarino, Salanio, Gra- 
tiano 

[ {c) Leonardo 

i {a) Shylock 

( (^) Tubal, Gobbo, Jessica 

(<^) Portia, Nerissa, B assanio 
/i\ i Prince of Morocco 
1 Prince of Arragon 

(<3:) Jessica, Lorenzo 
{b) Launcelot 



J («) Nerissa, Gratiano 

3d Thread J Shylock 
Religious Conflict ( Antonio 

Second Movement: Mediation 

Threads as in j Property, I^ove, 
First Movement ) Rehgion 
Mediatorial spirit of love — Portia. 
Love for Bassanio; pleads mercy for his friend, 
Antonio , denied — meets demand for justice; 
exacting exact justice — Antonio saved. 
Shylock forced to become Christian and deed 
his property to Lorenzo and Jessica after his 
death- 

Third Movement: Return. 
All return to Belmont the place of love and 
harmony. 

Jessica and Lorenzo, Portia and Bassanio. 
Nerissa and Gratiano. 
Antonio's ships safe. 

In tracing the characters in the various threads they may 
be grouped according to their importance, as Group a, 
Group b, etc. 



STUDIES OF SPECIAL PLAYS 105 

13. The plot may be traced through the various acts 
and scenes by the aid of a graphic illustration. 

14. Make a time analysis if you can? 

15. Make a list of the characters, tracing the dramatic 
purpose or office of each in the play? as, Portia, mediator 
in the property conflict. In the family thread show the 
triumph of love as the basis of marriage over the claims of 
title or wealth. The play may then be followed out, each 
act by scenes, tracing the characters and their motives, their 
play upon each other, etc., showing the inter-play of the 
incidents of the story with the incidents of the plot in the 
working out of the final result. It is very interesting to 
search for biblical allusions ; note the use of music, make a 
list of quotations on different topics. Write character 
sketches. The field is so rich that there is almost no limit 
to the lines of thought which may be worked out. 

II 

Studies of Special Plays. 

In preparing these studies, it is presumed that if these 
particular plays are studied in the high school, they will be 
taken in the order here presented, and that the pupils in the 
second and third years are prepared to discuss more thor- 
oughly the principles and structure of the drama and its dif- 
ferent forms than in the first year ; the text of Parts I and II 
should be thoroughly reviewed with the study of each play. 
We would again impress the advantage to the pupil, of 
making a table of entrance and exits of characters ; by 
means of this table, a character can always be located in the 
play. The graphic illustration of plot enables one to get the 
structure of the play at a glance. Outline books may be 
made very attractive and interesting by putting in pictures 
illustrating the subject; these may often be found in old 
magazines ; the beautiful Perry pictures and the Brown pic- 
tures are easily obtained, large sizes for a penny, small sizes 
for half penny each. 



106 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

Questions on the play by acts and scenes are not given 
because it is thought best to leave this in the hands of the 
teacher. For the same reason only a limited number of 
schemes for outline books is presented ; the questions on the 
text of Parts I and II and on the play furnish abundant ma- 
terial by way of suggestion, for as many different schemes 
as may be required for a large school. If other plays are stud- 
ied, those given are suggestive of a line of procedure. 



A Study of The Merchant of Venice 

Side Lights 

This play was probably written about 1596 or 1597. By 
this time Shakespeare had become a prosperous business 
man ; his mind was quite centered upon money affairs. He 
bought New Place in Stratford in 1597. The play deals 
with the wealthy classes. Brandes suggests that The Mer- 
chant of Venice was' the natural product of the Poet's 
trend of mind at that time. 

Source of Plot. 

In this play Shakespeare weaves his story from two 
old, old stories ; the story of the pound of flesh may be 
traced back to the dim past of the Oriental Myths ; coming 
into Europe, the laws of the Twelve Tables of Ancient 
Rome savor of it; we are told that they gave the creditor 
the right to take payment in the flesh of the insolvent debtor, 
and in case of several creditors, the flesh could be divided 
pro rata, if one got more than his share he forfeited all; 
this was also an ancient custom of other nations. 

The casket story has been traced back to the Greek 
writings of a Syrian monk about the year 800 ; it also had 
various literary wanderings, and probably Shakespeare was 
not the first to combine it with the bond storv. Besides these 



THE MERCHANT OF VENICE 107 

two stories, the play is enlivened by two episodes, the elope- 
ment of Jessica and the ring episode; these were also old; 
but under the magic touch of this master-mind how they 
are all woven together and what a wonderful creation we 
have ! 

Theme 

The theme of the play is the relation of man to property ; 
this gives rise to the Property Conflict. Money is the real 
basis of all action ; the drama hinges as it were upon An- 
tonio's money ; so long as he is considered solvent all goes 
well ; when his argosies are supposed to be lost, the dramatic 
action changes and works out the result of this loss. 

The play deals with three typical forms of property in 
the posession of three leading characters, while the fourth, 
Bassanio, is the spendthrift who cannot keep money at all, 
and has to depend upon borrowing from friends, which 
causes all the difficulty. 

Shy lock's wealth consisted of money and jewels; easily 
secreted, easily transported, insecure, since it presents great 
temptations to the thief; money always at command 
Wealth ^° ^^ loaned and reloaned, offering a temptation to 
take advantage of another's necessities ; jewels, 
which always have a high market price. This form of prop- 
erty is the type of the miser who hoards for the sake of 
hoarding, who loves money for the sake of money, not for 
the comfort that it will buy, not for the sake of trade or 
commerce, nor for culture, not even for the happiness of 
the home. 

Antonio's wealth was invested in his argosies, subject 

to losses at sea from storms and from pirates ; he carried on 

trade with all nations and came in touch with the 

^^ . , whole commercial world. This form of property 

should typify breadth of mind and a spirit of gener- 

ositv, as it does in Antonio's case. 



108 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

Portia's wealth consisted of landed estates and palaces, 
the inheritance of generations ; not easily transported, not 

easily subject to loss, thieves could not rob her, nor 
J^^^f^ storms dispossess her to any appreciable extent; 

wealth and culture was her natural atmosphere ; she 
could dispense her ducats as lavishly as she chose and feel 
no loss. This form of wealth typifies permanence, refine- 
ment, culture. 

A secondary theme is the relation of Judaism to Christi- 
anity ; of the Jew of that age to the Christian of that age ; 

this gives rise to the Religious conflict. In this con- 
eigious^.^^ Shylock is a type of Judaism under the old 

Mosaic law which demanded justice to the exact 
letter of the law, "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth ;" 
Antonio is a type of Mediaeval Christianity, in which hatred 
of the Jew manifests itself in the spirit of persecution. 
Portia typifies the spirit of true Christianity; love, and 
justice tempered with mercy. 

The theme of love hovers over the entire drama like an 
enveloping action ; it relieves the strain of the tragic element, 
and sweetens and enlivens the entire play from its beginning 
to its end, where it closes in the very ecstacy of the unalloyed 
joy of perfect love. Notwithstanding all of this prominence, 
from the dramatic standpoint, love is really a minor theme. 
In the first place, by her father's decree, Portia is to be 
won by the choice of the caskets, not by actual love, although 

Nerissa tries to console her by the assurance that 
„ she "will, no doubt, never be chosen by any rightly, 

but by one who you may rightly love." Secondly, 
Bassanio has squandered borrowed mone}^, and must devise 
some means of relief from pecuniary obligations, he says, 

" 'Tis not unknown to you, Antonio, 
How much I have disabled mine estate, 



THE MERCHANT OF VENICE 109 

my chief care 
Is to come fairly off from the great debts 
Wherein my time something too prodigal 
Hath left me gaged. To you, Antonio, 
I owe the most, in money and love, 
And from your love I have a warranty 
To unburden all my plots and purposes 
How to get clear of all the debts I owe. 

In Belmont is a lady richly left; 

And many Jasons come in quest of her. 

my Antonio, had I but the means 

To hold a rival place with one of them, 

1 have a mind presages me such thrift, 
That I shall questionless be fortunate !'' 

Evidently Bassanio's primary object in striving to win 
Portia is to get the means with which to discharge his 
pecuniary obligations ; he feels encouraged to make the 
effort because they had incidentally met once, we have no 
reason to suppose more than once, when 

"from her eyes 
I did receive fair speechless messages," 

but 

"The four winds blow in from every coast 
Renowned suitors." 

The Princes of the Earth came from all directions, with 
their magnificent retinues to win the lovely lady; for she is 
not only "richly left" but 

"She is fair and fairer than that word 

Of wondrous virtues : 

Her name is Portia, nothing undervalued 
To Cato's daughter, Brutus' Portia :" 

It will take much money 

"To hold rival place with one of them." 



110 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

He is in dire need of the material wealth which a 
marriage with Portia will bring ; if in addition to this, his 
life will be enriched by union with a wealth of character and 
love, what an unanswerable argument accompanies the re- 
quest for a loan ; he is already heavily in debt to Antonio, if 
his friend will but provide him with the means to join the 
royal suitors for fair Portia's hand and heart, 

"I shall questionless be fortunate;" 
but if he does not win, Antonio will suffer no further loss, 

for 

"That which I owe is lost; but if you please 
To shoot another arrow that selfsame way, 
Which you did shoot the first, I do not dotibt, 
As I will watch the aim, or to find both, 
Or bring your latter hazard back again 
And thankfully rest debtor for the first." 

So Antonio will run no risk in making this loan, and if 

Bassanio's 

"plots and purposes 

How to get clear of all the debts I owe" 

succeed, as he has a "mind" they will, then he can pay all. 
Thus we see that while Bassanio wanted to borrow money 
to enable him to ply his suit for Portia, he wanted to win 
Portia primarily, to get money which would enable him to 
discharge his debts. 

Jessica was prompted to elope with Lorenzo quite as 
much to escape the tyranny of her father, as for love. The 
love of Gratiano and Nerissa is an incident of story and not 
of plot. 

With what wonderful skill our artist weaves the climax 
of the threads of the charming love theme into that of the 
money theme, making it one complete whole. Bassanio 
wins his Portia; at the same time Gratiano and Nerissa 
pledge their troth ; they have scarcely had time to announce 



THE MERCHANT OF VENICE 111 

their triumphs of love, when Salerio arrives from Venice 

bringing the letter from Antonio telling of his losses ; 

Lorenzo and Jessica make good their escape from Venice 
with no intention of following Bassanio, 

''But meeting Salerio by the way, 

He did entreat me past all saying nay, 

To come with him along." 

Salerio confirms Lorenzo's statement, saying 

"And I have reason for it. Signer Antonio 
Commends him to you." 

Thus we see the last of the three pairs of lovers brought to 
Portia's house, (which seems a veritable ''Forest of Arden") 
by Antonio, who is the link uniting all of the various threads 
of the play, and upon whom the entire dramatic action de- 
pends. 

Structure 

In the iirst movement all seems to go well; Bassanio, 
with no money to enable him to ply his suit of love at Bel- 
First mont, has no hesitancy in applying to his friend 
Move- Antonio, to whom he is already greatly indebted ; 
ment from Shylock the money is obtained on the strength 
of Antonio's bond ; here the religious conflict first manifests 
itself. Bassanio gains his bride through the right choice of 
caskets. All is dependent primarily, on the wealth of An- 
tonio's argosies at sea, the news of Antonio's loss changes 
the whole action of the play ; the first movement depends 
upon the fact of Antonio's property, hence the supposed 
loss of the argosies constitutes the climax. 

The second movement, Mediation, depends upon the 
supposed loss of Antonio's property; here Portia, as media- 
Second ^o^' saves the life of Antonio, thereby saving the 
Move- play from becoming Tragedy ; thus in the Property 
^^^^ conflict, the life of man triumphs over property; 



112 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

Shylock is compelled to leave his property to Jessica in the 
end, and in the Religious conflict he is compelled to "be- 
come a Christian" and Christianity triumphs. Here Shylock, 
the only discordant element in the play, drops out. 

The third movement, the Return, deals only with the 
theme of love ; here all meet in Portia's house in Belmont, 
Third where all the little tricks causing little momentary 
Move- discords are exposed ; identities are revealed, and 
"^ent all revel in the harmonious atmosphere of moon- 
shine, music and love. 

In the Property conflict, it will readily be seen that the 
play is Comedy, since not only the individual is saved, but 
the property also. In the Religious conflict, it is Comedy for 
Christianity, since Shylock is compelled to become a 
Christian. In the Love conflict, the comedy is self-evident. 
Nemesis follows Shylock, but not to the extent of taking 
his life. His deeds return upon his own head ; his life is 
spared through enforced surrender of his property at his 
death, and of his religion. However much we may despise 
his spirit of revenge and his love of his ducats more than his 
love for his daughter, we cannot but feel that his end is 
pathetic. 

For hints on Threads refer to "Study of an Individual 
Play." The principal characters arrange themselves diflfer- 
ently according to the view-point which we take of them. 

The following seems to be the order of their 
Importance in Story : Bassanio, Antonio, Shylock, Portia. 
Dramatic Importance : Antonio, Shylock, Portia, Bassanio. 
Strength : Shylock, Portia, Antonio, Bassanio. 
Beauty of Character: Portia, Antonio, Bassanio, Shylock. 

Portia serves the dramatic purpose of mediator and 
forms the connecting link between the business world and 
the family. Jessica and Launcelot seem to form the con- 



THE MERCHANT OF VENICE 113 

necting link between the Jewish religion and the Christian, 
by deserting the one for the other. 

Some Legal Aspects 

Much criticism has been passed upon the method of con- 
ducting the trial in the Merchant of Venice ; it has been said 
that it conforms to no court practice, and that such viola- 
tion of court procedure, even for dramatic effect, is scarcely 
excusable, even in Shakespeare. 

Shakespeariana for January, 1893, contains a very in- 
teresting experience of Mr. John T. Doyle, which throws 
new light on this point. It was published at the request of 
Mr. Lawrence Barrett, who considered it of too great value 
to be lost. It first appeared in the Overland Monthly for 
July, 1886. Mr. Furness has reproduced it in his Variorum 
edition.'^ 

The chief criticisms passed upon the trial in the Mer- 
chant of Venice are that no jury is impaneled; no witnesses 
called; the presiding Duke is fully informed of all of the 
facts in the case beforehand, and has sent them to Bellario 
of Padua, and called upon him to come and render judg- 
ment; certainl}^ very strange proceedings according to our 
modern courts of justice. 

Mr. Doyle states that in 1851-52 he spent several months 
in Nicaraugua; probably at that time the least known and 
least frequented of the Spanish-Amercian States, quite cut 
off from the rest of the world, it doubtless kept up the old 
Spanish court practices. The affairs of his company were 
in a much entangled condition, and he soon found himself 
involved in half a dozen law suits. One day in Grenada, 
a dapper little man accosted him on the street saying "The 
Alcalde sends for you ;" he paid little attention, when a by- 

*The Merchant of Venice, page 417. - 



114 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

stander told him that he had received a legal summons to 
court, and that he would better go at once, which he did; 
when he arrived at court, the Alcalde had the plaintiff sum- 
moned, who made his charges against the company, and the 
court proceedings were almost identical with the case of 
Shylock, even from the summons on the street to the col- 
lection of the fee. The decision was in Mr. Doyle's favor; 
soon after, he received an 'Tntimation" that Don. Buena- 
ventura (the Dr. Bellario in the case) expected a "gratifica- 
tion" of probably two hundred dollars ; this was simply the 
fee, which in practice was always collected from the winner 
in the case. His other cases proceeded in the same manner. 
Mr. Doyle says that after this experience he re-read 
the case of Shylock and concluded that Shakespeare was 
perfectly familiar with old Spanish court customs, and that 
those of Venice were probably the same, as they came orig- 
inally from the same source. At least it was no strain of 
poetic license to transfer Spanish customs to Venice for 
dramatic effect. Mr. Doyle further states that the disposi- 
tion of Shylock's estate was still a stumbling block to him, 
but that later, he witnessed a case in a Mexican court which 
was settled in a manner quite like that of Shylock, and he then 
felt that Shakespeare knew perfectly well what he was 
about, and that we need no longer feel that in this case he 
shows a lack of knowledge of correct legal proceedings. 

The Bible in the Merchant of Venice 

Find in the play, passages parallel to the following quo- 
tations from the Bible, or which evidently were suggested 
by them : . 

„ ., , Merchant 

^'"^ of Venice 

1. Whosoever will save his life shall Act I 

lose it. Luke IX, 24 ; also Matt. X, 39. Scene 1 



THE MERCHANT OF VENICE 115 

2. Whosoever is angry with his broth- Act I 
er without a cause shall be in danger of the Scene 1 
judgment: and whosoever shall say Raca 

(vain fellow) shall be in danger of the 
council, but whosoever shall say thou fool, 
shall be in danger of hell fire. Matt. V, 22. 

3. See story of Jonathan shooting the Scene 1 
arrows. I Samuel XX, 18-22, 35-38. 

4. And Jesus gave them leave. And Scene 3 
the unclean spirits went out and entered 

into the swine^ etc. Mark V, 12, 13. See 
also Luke VIII, 33 ; John I, 46. 

5. For the story of the Patriarchs ; the Scene 3 
mother's trick to secure the first place for 

her favorite son; this son's trick to get the 
best of the bargain with his uncle Laban, 
see Genesis XXI, 3 ; XXX, 25-43. 

6. Then the devil said ... It is Scene 3 
written, He shall give his angels charge 

concerning thee, etc. Matt. IV, 6 ; Ps. XCI, 
11, 12. 

7. Ye make clean the outside of the Scene 3 
cup and of the platter, but within they are 

full of extortion and excess. Matt. XXIII, 
25 ; also Luke XI, 39. 

8. For calling names, see again Matt. Scene 3 
V, 22. 

9. If a man say, I love God, and hat- Scene 3 
eth his brother, he is a liar. I John IV, 20. 

10. Whatsoever ye would that men Act II 
should do to you, do ye even so to them. Scene 1 
Matt. VII, 12; also Luke VI, 31. 

Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 
Leviticus XIX, 18. 



116 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

11. How to perform that which is Act II 
good I find not, for the good that I would, Scene 2 
1 do not; when I would do good, evil is 

present with me. Romans VIIj 18, 19, 20. 

12. Honor thy father and thy mother. Scene 3 
Exodus XX, 12. 

Cursed be he that setteth light by his 
father or his mother. Deut. XXI, 18-21. 
See also Deut. XXVI, 6. 

13. They that plow iniquity and sow Scene 5 
wickedness, reap the same. Job IV, 8 ; also 

Proverbs XXII, 8 ; Hosea X, 12, 13 ; Gal. 
VI, 7. 

14. With my staff I passed over this Scene 5 
Jordan and now am become two bands 

(symbol of increase or thrift). Genesis 
XXXII, 10. 

15. Who can find a virtuous woman? 

for her price is far above rubies. The Scene 6 

heart of her husband doth safely trust in 
her. Prov. XXXI, 10, 11. 

16. Be not wise in your own conceits. Scene 7 
Proverbs XII, 16. 

17. The soul of Jonathan was knit to Scene 8 
the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him 

as his own soul. I Samuel XVIII, 1. 

18. Thy love to me was wonderful, Scene 8 
passing the love of women. II Samuel I, 26. 

19. The words of the Lord are pure Scene 9 
words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, 

purified seven times. Ps. XII, 6. 

20. A prating fool shall fall. Prov. Scene 9 
X, 8, 10. 



THE MERCHANT OF VENICE 117 

21. I, the Lord thy God am a jealous Act III 
God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers Scene 5 
upon the children, etc. Exodus XX, 5. 

22. Whosoever hateth his brother is a Act IV 
murderer. I John III, 5. Scene 1 

23. With the merciful thou wilt show Scene 1 
thyself merciful. II Sam. XXII, 26. 

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall 
obtain mercy. Matt. V, 7. See also Ps. 
XLI, 1. 

24. He shall come down like rain upon Scene 1 
the mown grass, as showers that water the 

earth. Ps. LXXII, 6. See also Deut. 
XXXII, 2, and Ps. LXV, 10. 

25. By the works of the law shall no Scene 1 
flesh be justified. Gal. II, 16. 

26. And the Lord shall return his 
blood upon his own head, etc. I Kings II, 
32. See also II Sam. I, 6 ; Josh. II, 19 ; 
Deut. XIX, 10 ; Matt. XXVII, 25. 

27. The soul of Jonathan was knit Scene 1 
with the soul of David,' and Jonathan loved 

him as his own soul. I Sam. XVIII, 1. 

28. Now Barrabas was a robber. John Scene 1 
XVIII, 40. 

29. For by thy words thou shalt be 

justified and by thy words thou shalt be Scene 1 

condemned. Matt. XII, 37. 

30. And Daniel convicted them of false Scene 1 
witness. And from that day forth was Dan- 
iel had in great reputation. The Apocrypha. 

Book of Susanna ver. 61-64. 



118 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

31. The heavens declare the glory of Act V 
God and the firmament showeth his handy Scene 1 
work .... There is no speech nor 

language where their voice is not heard. 
Ps. XIX, 1, 3. 

When the morning stars sang together. 
Job. XXXVIII, 7. 

32. Neither do men light a candle and Scene 1 
put it under a bushel, but on a candle-stick, 

and it giveth light unto all that are in the 
house. Let your light so shine before men 
that they may see your good works, etc. 
Matt. V, 15, 16. 

They that enter in may see the light. 
Luke VIII, 16. 

33. And when the dew fell upon the 

camp in the night, the manna fell upon it. Scene 1 

Num. XI, 9. 

Our fathers did eat manna in the desert. 
John VI, 31. See Ps. LXXVIII, 24, 25. 

34. Compare the friendship of Antonio 
for Bassanio with that of Jonathan for 
David. I Sam. XVIII, 1-4 ; XIX, 1-7 ; XX, 
4-22 ; II Sam. 1, 26. 

35. Compare Portia with the virtuous 
woman in Proverbs XXXI, 10-31. 

Questions 

1. Why is the play called The Merchant of Venice? 
With what class of society does it deal? 

2. What is the theme of the play? 

3. Why may Shakespeare's financial condition have 
suggested the writing of the play? 



THE MERCHANT OF VENICE 119 

4. Compare the scenes in Venice with the scenes in Bel- 
mont. 

5. Name the two secondary themes in the order of their 
dramatic importance. 

6. What two old stories and what two episodes did 
Shakespeare weave into the play? 

7. What three forms of property are considered, and 
of what may each be considered a type? 

8. Name the four leading characters of the play in the 
order of story; of dramatic importance; of strength; of 
beauty of character. 

9. What dramatic purpose do the following serve : 
Nerissa? Gratiano? Lorenzo? Launcelot? 

10. What brings out Jessica's native modesty? 

11. What is the dramatic purpose of the Lorenzo and 
Jessica episode? It helps to work out which of the three 
themes? What effect would it have on the drama if 
omitted ? 

12. What is the only really discordant element in the 
play and when does it drop out ? Why at this point ? 

13. In the Religious conflict of what are the following 
types — Shylock? Antonio? Portia? 

14. In what way do Jessica and Launcelot seem to serve 
as a connecting link between Judaism and Christianity? 

15. What are the two strong inducements for Jessica's 
elopement ? 

16. What is Shylock's most forcible argument for fair 
treatment from the Christians? Where found? 

17. Had Portia any precedent for requiring Shylock to 
take the exact pound of flesh, no more, no less? 

18. Where in the play does Portia appear the strong- 
est? Where the most womanly? 

19. Give Bassanio's characteristics. Was he worthy of 
Portia ? 



120 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

20. The dramatic problem is solved in Act IV, why- 
does the play not end there ? What is the purpose of Act V ? 

21. What dramatic purpose does the ring episode 
serve ? 

22. In the play which is stronger, the element of friend- 
ship or the element of love? 

23. What purpose does music serve in the play? 

24. Show how the play is Comedy ; 

First, In the Property conflict, 
Second, In the Religious conflict. 
Third, In the Love conflict. 

25. To what extent is the play Tragedy and to what 
extent Comedy for Shylock? Where is the "Nemesis" of 
the play? 

26. Why is the play Tragi-Comedy ? 

27. What is the climax of the play ? Why ? 

28. Give an incident of plot; an incident of story. Is 
the choice of Portia by means of the caskets an incident of 
plot or of story? 

29. Does the play satisfy these three conditions? 

1. Does it tell a dramatically complete story? 

2. Is the story worked out by means of purely 

human and probable characters? 

3. Is it worked out in a way to be pleasing to the 

audiences of Shakespeare's day and of our 
own day? 

30. Is there any dramatic purpose in having Jessica 
and Lorenzo drift to Belmont when they elope? Why does 
the play in the end bring all of the principal characters ex- 
cept Shylock, together in Belmont? Why is not Shylock 
there also? 

31. Is it a popular acting play? Why? 



THE MERCHANT OF VENICE 121 

Scheme for Outline Book 

(a) 

I. The Drama. 

(a) Define and give origin. 

(b) State briefly the origin and development of the 

English Drama. 

(c) Describe the theatre and manner of presenting a 

play in Shakespeare's time. 

II. Name the three most important senior contempor- 
aries of Shakespeare and compare him with them in char- 
acter and education. 

III. Merchant of Venice. 

(a) Classify the play. Why is it Tragi-Comedy ? 

(b) With what class of society does it deal? What 

is the theme of the play? Why are the busi- 
ness scenes laid in Venice? 

(c) What are the secondary themes of the play? 

IV. Show how the play is Comedy in each of the three 
themes or conflicts. 

V. Compare Shylock's treatment of Antonio with An- 
tonio's treatment of Shylock. 

VI. Compare Portia the judge, with Portia the woman. 

VII. Give a memorized quotation from each of the fol- 
lowing persons and tell where found — Portia, Antonio, Bas- 
sanio, Shylock, Gratiano, Nerissa. 

VIII. How is music used in the play? 

IX. Read As you Like It. Name the animals men- 
tioned in the play. Give two good quotations from each Act. 
What is the supernatural element in the play? 



122 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

Scheme for Outline Boo??: 

(b) 

I. The Drama. 

(a) Define the Drama and give its origin. 

(b) In about ten lines give the most important points 
in the development of the English Drama. Name 
the three essential elements of the Modern 
Drama. 

(c) Write a tabular classification of the Shakes- 
pearean Drama. Define terms. 

(d) Where was Shakespeare's life spent? Divide 
into three periods in point of time. State two 
important facts in each period. 

XL Merchant of Venice. 

(a) Classify the play The Merchant of Venice. 
Give reasons. 

(b) Make a table of the entrance and exit of char- 
acters. 

(c) What is the real theme of the play? The second- 
ary themes ? What is the climax ? 

(d) Name four characteristics of each of the follow- 
ing persons, giving quotations to prove your 
statements: Portia, Antonio, Shylock, Bassanio, 
Jessica. Give Gratiano's characteristics from his 
own words. 

(e) Name the characters in the order of story, in 
the order of dramatic importance. 

(f) Read As You Like It. Name the animals men- 
tioned in the play. Give two good quotations 
from each Act. What is the supernatural ele- 
ment in the play? 



THE MERCHANT OF VENICE 123 

Suggestive Topics for Essays and Discussion 

1. The City of Venice, Why selected as the scene for 
the business action of the play. 

2. The character of Portia. 

3. Portia as a daughter; as a lawyer. 

4. The character of Jessica compared with Portia. 

5. The three women in the play compared in character 
and dramatic purpose. 

6. The choice of the caskets. Object of Portia's father 
in making such a requirement. 

7. The choice of the caskets ; the three suitors, their 
characters. Does Portia in any way influence their choice? 

8. The religion of Shylock and Antonio as manifested 
in their daily life. 

9. The pathetic side of Shy lock's situation. 

10. The three Love-stories, compare them in their dra- 
matic importance. 

11. The character of Nerissa ; her part in the play. 

12. Antonio as a business man^ a Christian, a friend. 

13. The character of Bassanio ; was he worthy of Por- 
tia? 

14. The character of Gratiano; compare with Antonio. 

15. The Re-union at Belmont. 
IG. Antonio the man. 

1. Bassanio's estimate of Antonio. 

2. Shylock's estimate. 

3. Antonio as he manifests himself in the play. 
Combine these three points and work out his character. 
17. Which makes his own religion the more attractive, 

Antonio or Shylock? 



JULIUS C^SAR ■ 125 



A Study of Julius C^sar 

Sidelights 
The Three Roman Plays 

In his three Roman plays, Shakespeare shows Roman 
life dramatized : Coriolanus portrays the struggle of classes ; 
Julius CcBsar the struggle of principles; Antony and Cleo- 
patra the struggle of individuals ; still in all of these plays 
the characters are so marvelously drawn that our interest 
centers in them rather than in the State. 

Dowden considers the theme of Coriolanus to be the 
"ruin of a noble life through the sin of pride." Mr. Moulton 
Corio- thinks this very unjust to Coriolanus ; he says that 
lanus his ''deeds are not actuated by personal ambition/* 
Theme that he is only actuated by "the passion of service," 
his only ambition is to serve the State; according to this 
interpretation "Patriotism" must be the theme. 

We may certainly consider the theme of Antony and Cle- 
Antony and opatra to be "the ruin of a brilliant mind 

Cleopatra Theme and earnest soul, through lack of moral 
force or power." 

Julius Ccesar is a drama of the State. It is a conflict be- 

r ,. r. r^y twccu thc wom out Republic and the in- 
Jultus Ccesar Theme . t i • 

commg one-man power. Its theme is 

"Down with tyranny and the tyrant." Brutus hated tyranny, 

Cassius hated the tyrant. 

This drama was probably written about 1(301, or just 

about the time of the conspiracy of Essex and Southampton 

^ a£:ainst the life of Elizabeth, for which Essex lost 

Date ^ 

his head and Southampton was sent to the tower; 
Brandes thinks that this might have directed Shakespeare's 



126 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

thought to poHtical intrigues, and have suggested the writ- 
ing of Julius Ccesar. 

In Julius Ccesar, Shakespeare has almost transcribed 
Pkitarch ; in none of his other plays has he followed the 
Source source of his plot so closely; if the student will 
of Plot read the lives of Caesar and Brutus in North's Plu- 
tarch,* and then read his Julius Ccesar, he will find not only 
the story, but the incidents with a few slight variations, the 
superstitions, the omens, and in many cases the very lan- 
guage of Plutarch ; but what a transformation ! The great 
master has endowed the narrative of Plutarch with dramatic 
life, the characters are no longer men in a book, but are alive 
before us, speaking for themselves. No more striking illus- 
tration can be found of the contrast between the narrative 
and the dramatic forms of literature. 

That Shakespeare has chosen in this great play to pre- 
sent Plutarch's weak Csesar, instead of the grand Caesar of 
Shakes- history has been ever a great puzzle to critics. Some 
peare's have even gone so far as to say that he could have 
Caesar -]^^^ ^^^ j^g^ conception of the true character of this 
great "World-hero." A careful study of this play, and al- 
lusions to Caesar in other plays, shows the incorrectness of 
this conclusion. Hamlet, philosophizing upon the return of 
the body to Mother Earth, says : 

"Imperious Csesar, dead and turn'd to clay. 
Might stop a hole to keep the wind away : 
O, that that earth which kept the world in awe 
Should patch a wall t' expel the Winter's flaw." 

Here Shakespeare recognizes the man who could keep 
"the world in awe," and surely he could be no weakling. 
Mr. George Brandes thinks that had Shakespeare made the 
Caesar of history the real hero of the play, he would have 



*See "Shakespeare's Plutarch" Skeat : (Macmillan). 



JULIUS C^SAR . 127 

given us a far more wonderful drama, and that by not doing 
so, he lost a great opportunity. Since the great dramatist 
takes his material from whatever source he pleases, and 
handles it as he pleases, we shall treat the play in this study 
as though it were all his own: we will study it a.s. Shakes- 
peare and not as Plutarch. 

In the play Csesar appears only three times ; in Act I, 
Scene 2, in a public place to witness the race ; in Act II, 
Caesar Scene 3, he appears in the home ; in Act III, Scene 
in the 1, he goes to the Senate House where he is assass- 
^^^y inated. 

Throughout the entire play the interest centers in Bru- 
tus ; it almost seems as though the play were written to show 
Brutus how this man of high ideals and noble impulses is 
in the at last overcome through over-confidence in his 
^^^y ideals, and in men's acceptance of them, and a lack 
of political insight or judgment; he can theorize, but when 
he comes to deal with men in the outside world, he fails. A 
little more careful reading shows that the conflict is not with 
Csesar the individual, but with Csesar the "Institutional 
person," and that the spirit of Csesar is more powerful after 
the assassination than before; Brutus sounds the key-note 
when he says, 

"We all do stand up against the spirit of Csesar, 
And in the spirit of man there is no blood; 
O that we then could come by Caesar's spirit, 
And not dismember Caesar." 

Thus we see that Brutus and Cassius^ the "Institutional 
persons," stand for the Republic, the government in which 
Institu- the people have a voice. Csesar, the "Institutional 
tional person," stands for the one-man power; or may we 
persons ^^-^ f^gj ^j^^^ ^j^^ Csesar of history saw the failure of 
the Republic, and that the salvation of Rome lay in the better 
government which could only be obtained by taking the 



128 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

power out of the hands of factions which were using it only 
for self-aggrandizement, and placing it in the hands of one 
man who would study the good of the State. History shows 
that Caesar was cut down in the midst of the grandest plans 
for the State, and the golden age of Rome was the Age of 
Augustus when the spirit of the great Julius reigned. 

The life which moves through struggle to the repose of 
peace, is Comedy. Studying the play in this light, we see 
that while it is a great tragedy for individuals, as a 
rp . drama of government, it is really a great comedy for 
and the State of Rome: the misrule of the Republic has 

Comedy been crushed and harmony is restored through Oc- 
of the tavius, the bearer of Caesar's spirit ; for a short while, 
^^ until this spirit is violated, Rome is at rest under the 
rule of the Empire. The gates of the Temple of Janus, 
which were kept open in time of war and were closed in time 
of peace, were shut three times during the reign of Augus- 
tus, while in the entire previous history of the State, they 
had been closed but twice, so constantly had she been at war, 
and as Rome was "Mistress of the World/' this meant that 
peace prevailed throughout the entire civilized world. What 
a fitting time to usher in the "Prince of Peace" who was 
born during the reign of Augustus ! 

Ethical Standpoint of the Play 

Some points discussed in this topic have been already 
touched upon, enough to familiarize the pupil with the line 
of thought. This drama has full sweep in Shakespeare's 
Ethical World. 

Domestic life, or the Institution of the Family, has but 
small place, but it is shown in its most beautiful, most per- 
fect form in the relations between Brutus and Portia. The 
^reat conflict is in the State, seemingly between two fac- 
tions; really between the spirit of old RepubHc, which had 



JULIUS C^SAR 129 

degenerated into the misrule of factions and anarchy, and 
the Phoenix which was to rise from its ashes, in the form of 
a wise government, although administered by one man. 

This spirit of ''the survival of the fittest" which we see 
triumphing in the rise and fall of nations, is the World- 
Spirit of Shakespeare's Ethical World. Some indi- 
?\ ' vidual must be the bearer of this spirit ; but back of 
the individual must be a greater power — the People. 
The corner-stone in the foundation of our own national 
structure was the spirit of freedom ; this spirit could not en- 
Influence dure the enslaving of man by his fellow-man ; when 
of the the final conflict came, Lincoln was the bearer of 
People ^j^-g spirit, but back of him was the People, without 
this support he would have been powerless ; the mor- 
tal Lincoln, like Caesar, suffered martyrdom at the hands of 
misled fanaticism, but the spirit of Lincoln, the World- 
Spirit of freedom and justice, lives on and can never die. 
What was it but the cry of the People that settled the recent 
great conflict caused by the coal strike (1902) ; both capital 
and labor had to make concessions at the demand of the 
People. 

In this most popular of Shakespeare's historical dramas, 
we must by no means overlook this most powerful element 
rpj^g — the People. Notice how careful Csesar is to keep in 
People in touch with the People when he refuses the crown. 
Julius After the assassination, the first thought of Brutus 
Casar ^^^ Cassius is to pacify the People; Antony is so 
successful in his appeal to the People that Brutus 
and Cassius are compelled to flee, and why? because the 
spirit of CcBsar and the spirit of the People are one. Weary 
of the misrule, the bloodshed, the anarchy of the worn-out 
Republic, the time had come for this World-Historical-Spirit 
to assert itself, and bring peace and rest to Rome. Perhaps 
this may explain why Shakespeare has chosen to begin his 



130 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

drama with the very last events of Caesar's life; to show 
that he was mightier in his death than in his life; his object 
seems, not to be to write a drama of the objective events of 
the life of this great man, but to show him as the bearer of 
this great World-Spirit before which governments rise and 
fall. 

Rome had always hated the name of King; this World- 
Spirit of freedom was right, but Rome had failed in execu- 
tion. 

The spirit of freedom, if it does not produce the best gov- 
ernment for the people, results either in the tyranny of 
factions, or in that license which finally ends in anarchy. The 
politician, Cassius, in his hatred of the tyrant, utterly failed 
to comprehend the present needs of Rome; perhaps he was 
too narrow to comprehend anything so broad. Brutus in 
his hatred of tyranny, equally failed, for while he recognized 
Caesar as only the bearer of a spirit, his vision was not clear, 
and he did not recognize in this spirit the great World- 
Spirit of history, and fancied that by killing the body he 
could kill the spirit ; naturally hating bloodshed, how gladly 
would he have killed the spirit ''and not dismember Caesar," 
had it been possible. He strikes the blow that only awakens 
the spirit of Caesar within the People, for Antony only 
arouses to action the World Spirit already there. 

Brutus and Cassius having arrayed themselves against 
this spirit, meet their fate at Philippi, and thus the deed re- 
turns upon the doer, and Nemesis is satisfied. 

The C^sar of History 

When only eighteen years of age, Caesar commanded the 

fleet that blockaded Mitylene, and for personal bravery, won 

the crown of oak leaves. At the age of twenty-four 

T "ixr 

he was captured by pirates, obtained his release by 
payment of fifty talents, manned their vessels, captured and 



JULIUS C^SAR 131 

crucified the pirates, as he had told them he would do. At 
twenty-six he was made MiHtary Tribune and at thirty-six, 
Pontifex Maximus. When Catiline was charged with con- 
spiracy, Csesar opposed the death sentence without trial, and 
his life was threatened. 

Triumphant in Spain, upon his return he was granted a 
triumph, and elected Consul, 60 B. C. He now out-generaled 
the bad management of the Senate, by getting the passage of 
an agrarian law which provided for the veterans of Pompey's 
army, and gave land to needy citizens ; relieved the tax col- 
lectors who had paid too high for their privileges ; thus 
showing his statesmanship by satisfying his rival, Pompey, 
pleasing the people, reconciling the capitalists, and weaken- 
ing the power of a despotic Senate. 

At the expiration of his term of office he was given com- 
mand in Gaul with three legions. Now began his famous 
Gallic campaigns which were marked by personal bravery 
and wise judgment ; always victorious, he made friends of 
the enemy, created new Roman provinces ; and when ordered 
to lay down his command, he dared to brave the Senate and 
cross the Rubicon with his army, which made him in the 
eyes of Rome, a traitor to his country. Succeeding in mak- 
ing himself master of Rome, he made himself secure by de- 
feating Pompey at Pharsalia, 48 B. C. ; crushed the rebellion 
of Pharnaces, made memorable by his laconic report "Veni, 
Vidi, Vici ;" defeated Cato and Scipio in Africa, 4:6 B. C, 
and Pompey's sons at Munda in Spain, March, 45 B.C. In 
September he was made dictator for life, and March 15, 44 
B. C, was assassinated. "The most brutal and the most pa- 
thetic scene that profane history has to record." Goethe says 
"the most senseless deed that ever was done." 

The decaying Republic was Csesar's opportunity ; instead 
of standing for liberty, for freedom, it meant only anarchy. 



132 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

Works of When C^sar took the helm, Rome was still reeking 
Peace with the blood of proscriptions ; no life was really 
safe ; the populace consisted of slaves and hordes of captives 
taken in war from all the tribes of Europe, Asia and Africa 
surrounding the Mediterranean ; all of these swarms of cap- 
tives, freedmen and slaves, without thought of labor, were 
fed at the public crib. Caesar at once planned great works of 
public construction and improvements, reducing pauperism 
by giving employment to the idle. 

He encouraged agricultural colonies in the newly ac- 
quired territory ; passed bankrupt laws which relieved the 
debtor and at the same time spared the creditor. 

Physically he is said to have been an athlete in early life, 
very fond of the bath, enjoying a plunge in the Tiber ; an 
Personal expert horseman, in his Gallic campaigns riding his 
charac- own horse which no one else could mount; enjoyed 
teristics excellent health until the last year of his life when 
he became a victim to the ''falling sickness" to which Cassius 
alludes. History writes him down as a humanitarian, and 
an author worthy of imitation. "No military narrative has 
approached the excellence of the history of the war in Gaul." 
He was a most wise statesman; one of the world's most 
famous generals, and as generous in peace as he was brave 
in war; no blood flowed in Rome by his direction when he 
stood at the helm ; he was great enough to forgive his ene- 
mies, a thing in that age of the world, unexampled in history. 

Structure 

The structure of the play is simple and easily traced. 
As in most of Shakespeare's tragedies, the first movement 
Move- is stronger, "the organization and the action more 
ments complete." As the play works up to the climax each 
step links into the preceding with an intensity of interest, 
while the consequences which follow the climax, in the 



JULIUS C^SAR 133 

fourth and fifth acts are more disjointed, looser in structure 
and hence the intensity of interest lags a trifle. In the first 
movement the action is in Rome, portraying her internal 
conflict ; it ends in the assassination of Caesar ; the spirit of 
Caesar drives the conspirators out. The second movement 
is external to Rome ; when outside of the State the conspira- 
tors fight the spirit of Caesar until overcome, they fall upon 
their own swords and die by their own hands. 

The suggestions already given disclose the threads : first 
the World- Spirit represented by Caesar and his friends ; al- 
though Antony's friendship is purely for the indi- 
vidual Caesar ; he has no conception of the spirit 
which Caesar represents, as is shown by his later life and by 
his death; still he forms the connecting link between Caesar 
and Octavius, the bearer of Caesar's spirit. Second thread: 
the conspirators who array themselves in opposition to the 
World-Spirit, led by Cassius and Brutus ; for convenience 
we may call the threads, Caesar's thread and The conspir- 
ator's thread. These points are only suggestive ; the pupil 
should work out the movements more fully and complete the 
threads. 

Time Analysis 

According to history, Caesar's last triumph was cele- 
brated in October, 45 B. C. The feast of Lupercal occurred 
Feb. 15, 44 B. C. The assassination of Caesar, March 15, 44 
B. C. ; his funeral, March 19 or 20 ; Octavius arrives at 
Rome in May; theTriumvirate is not formed until Novem- 
ber, 43 B. C. ; a year later, Oct., 43 B. C, two battles are 
fought at Philippi, twenty days apart. 

The play opens with the feast of Lupercal, Feb. 15, 44 
B. C, and closes with the battle of Philippi, Oct., 42, B. C, 
a period of two and a half years. One of the Commoners 
says : ''We make holiday to see Caesar and rejoice in his 
triumph." It is usually inferred that Shakespeare combines 



134 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 



the October triumph with the feast of Lupercal. He com- 
bines the two battles of Philippi and makes the other events 
follow in rapid succession. Mr. Daniels finds that the action 
on the stage covers six days with intervals. The interval 
of one month between Scenes ,2 and 3, Act I, since this evi- 
dently occurs on the same night as Scene 1, Act II, in which 
Lucius says, "March is wasted fourteen days." Act III 
follows the next day without interruption. Then follows 
quite a long time between Act III and Act IV, Scene 1. 
During the spring and summer of 42 B. C, Brutus and Cas- 
sius were in Asia Minor, in Sardis and vicinity, there must 
have been another long interval between Scenes 1 and 2 ; 
between Acts IV and V, long enough for the army to march 
from Sardis to Philippi. This time analysis may be pre- 
sented to the eye in tabular form. 



JULIUS C^SAR 


TIME ANALYSIS 


DAY 


ACT 


SCENE 




I 


I 


MI 


Feb. 15, 44 B. C. Feast of Lupercal. 








Interval, one month. 


II 


I 


III 


March 15, 44 B. C. Early morning. 


III 


II-III 




March 15, 44 B. C, Ides. Assassination. 








Historical interval, i year 8 months. 


IV 


IV 


I 


Nov. 43 B. C. Meeting of Triumvirate. 








Interval, several months 


V 


IV 


II-III 


Sardis— 42 B.C. 








Interval, at least long enough for the army 
to march from Sardis to Philippi. 


IV 


V 




Oct. — 42 B. C. Battle of Philippi. 



JULIUS C^SAR 135 

Questions for Class Study and Suggestive Topics for 

Outline Books. 

1. What period of Roman history does this drama rep- 
resent ? 

2. What is the theme of the play? 

3. What is the real conflict? 

i. If Shakespeare designed to make this a drama of 
Julius Caesar, why did he simply make use of his death in- 
stead of his life ? 

5. Do you think the play is properly called Julius 
CcBsarf Why, or why not? 

6. Why does the play open with the People f 

7. Name the places in the play in which the People 
appear and show the dramatic purpose which they serve. 

8. Compare Calpurnia and Portia in their domestic re- 
lations and character. 

9. What dramatic purpose do they serve? 

10. Does Portia betray her secret? 

11. Portia has been called Shakespeare's most modern 
woman. Why ? 

12. The Supernatural Element. 

1. What use is made of the supernatural in the play? 

Is it introduced merely to enliven and to awaken 
interest, or has it a dramatic purpose in the 
movement of the play? If so, what? 

2. How does nature seem to sympathize with the 

spirit of the play ? 

3. Make a list of the supernatural manifestations, 

omens, etc., and state where found, and who 
speaks of them or sees them. 

4. Can you feel that the whole atmosphere of the 
play is electrical? 

13. Cassiiis and the Conspiracy. 

1. Why does Cassius plan the conspiracy? 



136 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

2. Make a list of the steps and arguments by which 

Cassius wins Brutus. 

3. By which he wins Casca. 

4. Compare Brutus and Casca and show why each 
was necessary to make the conspiracy a success. 

5. How does Cassius show his ability in making up 

the band of conspirators? 

6. Is he a true patriot? 

7. Estimate his character as a man. 
14. Brutus. 

1. At the very opening of the play, to which party 

does he belong? 

2. Why does Cassius select Brutus as the first to be 
persuaded to join him? 

3. What traits of character does Brutus show in his 

conversation with Cassius in Act I, Scene 2? 

4. In discussing plans with the conspirators (Act 

II, Scene 1) what characteristics does he show? 

5. What reasons does he give for joining the con- 

spirators ? 

6. After the assassination does he manifest the 

spirit shown in his words, "O, that we could 
come by Caesar's spirit and not dismember 
Caesar" ? 

7. What effect did joining the conspirators have 

upon Brutus as a man? 

8. According to Titinius, whose fault was it that the 

battle of Philippi was lost? 

9. In his famous oration, to what elements in the 
People did he appeal? 

10. Was he a politician? Give reasons. 

11. Was he a statesman? Give reasons. 

12. Was he a general? Give reasons. 

13. Was he a true patriot? Give reasons. 



JULIUS C^SAR 137 

14. What characteristics does he show in his atti- 
tude toward Portia? 

15. What in his treatment of the boy Lucius all 
through the play? 

16. What was Brutus' philosophy concerning sui- 
cide? According to his own theory, was he 
courageous or cowardly in taking his own life? 

17. Brutus is usually considered the great character 
of the play, was his life a failure or a success? 
Why? 

18. Brutus has been called the "Sphinx" of the 
play. Why ? 

19. Make a list of the contradictions in his charac- 
ter. 

20. Make a synopsis of his oration. 

21. What point do you think had the greatest effect 
upon the People? 

22. Brutus said, "As I slew my best lover for the 
good of Rome, I have the same dagger for my- 
self when it shall please my country to need my 
death." Is this his reason for falling upon his 
sword after the battle of Philippi ? 

15. Make a list of the points upon which Cassius and 
Brutus differed ; who always yielded to the other ? Whose 
judgment was better? 

16. The tent scene, or quarrel between Brutus and Cas- 
sius, has ever been considered one of the finest scenes in the 
play. Can you see why? What is the object of it? How 
does it bring out each of the characters? Does it forward 
the dramatic movement of the play? 

17. According to history, Portia suffocated herself with 
hot coals on account of grief on hearing of the death of 
Brutus; in the play do you see any dramatic purpose in 
placing her death first? 



138 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

18. Make a list in parallel columns, of the characterist- 
ics of Brutus and Cassius. 

19. Antony. 

1. What traits of Antony's character are revealed at 

the opening of the play ? 

2. What traits does he display in conversation with 

Brutus and Cassius after Caesar's death? 

3. When Antony says, "And Caesar's spirit longing 

for revenge," etc., does he comprehend that 
Caiisar's spirit is the World-Spirit of history 
which cannot be crushed? 

4. In his famous oration, to what did he appeal in 
the People? 

5. Give the steps and arguments by which he 

reached his result. 

6. When Brutus appealed to the People, he carried 

them with him ; when Antony followed, he im- 
mediately won them to his side ; had Antony 
have spoken first, would they have turned from 
Antony to Brutus? 

7. In settling affairs in the triumvirate, (Act. IV, 

Scene 1), what traits of character does Antony 
show ? 

8. What, when he finds Brutus slain by his own 

hand? 

9. Antony could win the People, could he win indi- 

vidual men? Cassius could win individual men, 
could he sway the People? 

10. Was Antony a true patriot? 

20. Who is the political man of the play? The moral 
man? The non-moral man? 

21. What is the dramatic purpose of Act III, Scene 3 ? 



JULIUS C^SAR 139 

22. The Word ''Honor'' in the play. 

1. By whom and when is this word and its deriv- 
atives, honest, honorable, etc., used in the play? 
To whom does the word seem to belong? 

2. While reading the play, comit the number of 

times this word is used. 

23. The word ''Spirit" in the play. 

1. Trace this word in the play and show its sig- 
nificance ; could it be left out or anything substi- 
tuted for it? 

2. Count the number of times it occurs. 

24. Why does the ghost of Csesar appear to Brutus be- 
fore the battle of Philippi ? 

25. Can you see that this drama is Comedy for Rome? 

26. How is Nemesis satisfied? 

27. Make a graphic illustration of the rise and fall of 
any character, as. 




Suit your figure to your character. 

Scheme for Outline Book 

1. The Drama. 

(a) Define and give origin, 

(b) In parallel columns state the distinctive feat- 
ures of the Legendary and Historical Drama. 

(c) Define the term World- Spirit. 

2. Make a graphic illustration of the plot of Julius 
Ccesar. 

3. Make a list of the supernatural manifestations, 
omens, etc., in the play, stating who sees them or speaks of 
them. Give act and scene. 



140 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

4. Make a list of the events in the play which differ 
from the events in history. 

5. Give an analysis of Antony's oration, and show his 
method of moving the people. 

6. Show the course of Brutus in the play by graphic il- 
lustration. 

7. Give at least two quotations from each of the fol- 
lowing persons which indicate their character: Caesar, Cas- 
sius, Brutus, Portia, Antony. Give act and scene. 

8. Give at least three estimates each, of Caesar and Bru- 
tus from the mouths of others. Act and scene. 

Home reading .... Coriolanus. 

1. Write the story of the play in the class-room. 

2. Give theme. 

3. State its place in Roman history. 

4. State the importance of the domestic, or family 
thread in the play. 

5. Give two quotations showing strength from Vo- 

lumnia, and two from Coriolanus. 

6. Why do both of these plays open with the 
People? 

Suggestive Themes for Essays and Discussion 

1. The People in the play. 

2. The Supernatural in the play. 

3. Portia and Calpurnia. 

4. Cassius and the Conspiracy. 

5. Caesar in the play. 

6. The Caesar of History and Shakespeare's Caesar. 

7. Brutus the Sphinx of the play. 

8. Caesar the Patriot. 

9. Brutus and Cassius as Patriots. 

10. Antony as a Patriot. 

11. Portia, the Woman. 



JULIUS C^SAR 141 

12. The word Honor in the play. 

13. The word Spirit in the play. 

14. The Man Antony, compared with the Man Brutus. 

15. Calpurnia's and Caesar's Superstitions. 

IG. Brutus as an orator compared with Antony. 

17. Lepidus, his character and dramatic purpose in the 
Drama. 

18. Cesar's treatment of his enemies. 

19. Caesar's attitude toward the people. 

20. The Elements of the Drama of Julius Ccesar, which 
make it so popular. 

21. Quarrel between Cassius and Brutus. 

22. Brutus' Inconsistencies. 

23. The Significance of the Assassination of Political 
Leaders. 

24. An Estimate of the Drama Julius Ccesar. 



MACBETH 143 

A Study of Macbeth 

Sidelights 

Some Features of the Play 

This drama was probably written about 1606. It breathes 
the atmosphere of Scotland; the crowns of England and 
Scotland had recently been united in James I ; possibly the 
spirit of the times might have suggested to Shakespeare the 
writing of this, his only Scottish play. The mutilated con- 
dition of the text as it appeared first in the folio of 1623, 
doubtless accounts for some apparent faults in the artistic 
work of this drama. 

The dramatic action is so rapid, that although it contains 
so much, it is one of the shortest of Shakespeare's plays ;* it 
Dramatic has only 3109 lines, while Hamlet contains 3930. 
Action The interest so centers in Macbeth and Lady Mac- 
beth that it almost seems a play of but two characters ; and 
yet in the first or vital Act, Macbeth speaks only 26 times, 
and in all but 878 words : Lady Macbeth speaks only 14 
times, 864 words in all ; in the entire play she speaks less 
than 60 times and Macbeth less than 150; many of these 
speeches are very short, some times only a word. We 
marvel at the ability which develops two of the most won- 
derful characters in all literature in so short a space. 

This drama has such a strong historical background, 
that at first one is almost inclined to classify it as Historical, 
Classifi- but the treatment is purely that of Ideal Tragedy, 
cation which takes it out of the realm of history. 

For his historical material, as in his English plays, 

*The Comedy of Errors is the shortest play, 1778 lines. (Globe 
Ed.) 



144 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

Shakespeare draws upon Holinshed; as this story is given 
in most of the school editions of the play we will 
°"^^^ . not repeat it here. His handling of his material is 
a constant source of wonderment and admiration. What ac- 
tion he puts into every dry bone ; what dramatic life into 
every character, until the effect of the whole seems nothing 
short of electrical ! 

The Supernatural Element 

Hamlet and Macbeth are Shakespeare's only Ideal Trag- ' 
edies ; that is, the only tragedies in which the supernatural 
enters as an element by which "to express and develop 
the motives of the tragic individual." It is only in 
these dramas feat — the objective — ghost — appears ; — th^ 
is , that the spirit - of the dead again assumes the body ; ov) 
that the supernatural assumes a form visible to those for 
whom it has no especial message. 

The drama of Macbeth is dominated by the supernatural 
from the beginning until near the end, when Macbeth 
parts from the Weird Sisters with a curse ; in fact, the con- 
flict seems to be between the supernatural and the natural 
worlds ; so much so, that these elements may be considered 
the two threads of the play. 

We can get but little idea of the true significance of this 
play without making an especial study of this supernatural 
Supersti- element. We must bear in mind that when this drama 
tious was written, the English as well as the Scottish peo- 
Beliefs pie, still believed in all sorts of supernatural mani- 
of the festations. They believed that evil spirits caused 
Times storms at sea and convulsions of nature on land ; that 
they took possession of human beings and caused them to 
commit crimes and destroy the peace of families ; if Queen 
EHzabeth's stomach did not behave well and kept her awake 
at night, it was because she had fallen under the spell of 
witchcraft. King James was so firm a believer in this form 



MACBETH 145 

of superstition that he wrote a Textbook of Witchcraft and 
Its Developments, and before he came to the throne of Eng- 
land he had caused no less than 600 old women to be burned 
as witches. The real witches were often supposed to guide the 
affairs of men; they were often pictured as inhuman hags, 
brewing all sorts of hideous mixtures in hellish cauldrons, 
and so when Shakespeare introduces this element in his 
play, he is only making it effective by the use of the common 
superstitions of the times. 

At its ver}^ opening, the play is thrown under the spell of 
the Weird Sisters, lln a desert place, with the elements of 
Weird nature in commotion, they meet to sound the key- 
Sisters note of the drama ; to announce that their next 
meeting will be to meet Macbeth "upon the heath. ^ 

''When the battle's lost and won." 



"Fair is foul and foul is fair;" 

To Banquo the Weird Sisters are only objective: he says 
*'to me you speak not." To Macbeth they are subjective as 
well as objective; he already has them within; his first 
words in the play, just as he is about to see the witches on 
the heath, 

"So foul and fair a day I have not seen," 

but indicates his kinship with them; they do not drop the 
seeds of temptation into his mind, but only start into active 
life what is already there; these evil creatures are only 
typical of the nest of vipers which Macbeth is nursing to 
hfe in his own breast. 

"They met me in the day of success." 

Having crushed a rebellion, an unholy ambition 
takes possession of him and he becomes a rebel at heart ; the 
thought of the crown is by no means new to him, the Weird 
Sisters make the possibility a reality ; the murder of Duncan 



146 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

will hasten kingship ; the resolution is taken and the plan 
laid; while waiting for the bell to call him to the deed (Act 
II, Scene 1), he sees the dagger with the handle towards 
him, he denies its reality and muses, 

"Now o'er the one half-world 
Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse 
The curtained sleep ; witchcraft celebrav"-""^ 
Pale Hecate's offerings." 

The appearance of Hecate, the queen of the witches, 
has caused much comment by critics ; by some it is 
considered quite unnecessary, while others go 
so far as to say that this feature of the play can- 
not be Shakespeare's own work ; since the critics differ so 
widely in their views and interpretations, we may be allow- 
ed to interpret for ourselves. 

When Macbeth has a moment's pause, his thoughts turn 
to the witches ; but now, kingship in view, Hecate, Queen of 
the witches, naturally appeals to his soul. Again in Act III, 
Scene 2, 

"O full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife ! 

Thou know'st that Banquo, and his Fleance, lives." 

"There's comfort yet; they are assailable. 

"e'er to black Hecate's summons 

The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums 
Hath sung night's yawning peal, there shall be done 
A deed of dreadful note." 

Here again, when he sees a possible future obstacle, with 
murder in his heart, his mind calls up the Queen of the 
witches. Has not Macbeth himself prepared us for her ap- 
pearance at the next meeting of these uncanny creatures? 
Has she a mission? First she chides them for daring 

"To trade and traffic with Macbeth 
In riddles and affairs of death," 

without calling upon her; then mark her words, 



MACBETH 147 

"And, which is worse, all you have done 

Hath been but for a wayward son. 

Spiteful and wrathful ; who, as others do. 

Loves for his own ends, not for you."' (Act HI, Scene 5.) 

Here she gives Macbeth his place, she proclaims him a 
"son," one of themselves. What could be more definite? 
She it is who foresees his next coming and plans for it ; she 
charges them to be ready with their vessels, charms, etc., for 
on the next day "he will come to know his destiny," then she 
will away to prepare for the "great business" of the mor- 
row, to "raise such artificial sprites" 

"As by the strength of their illusion 
Shall draw him on to his confusion, 
He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear 
His hopes 'bove wisdom, grace, and fear ; 
And you all know security 
Is mortals' chiefest enemy." 

Hecate it is, w^ho as Queen of evil, plans Macbeth's final 
destruction ; she gives the keynote to the announcements 
made by the apparitions as they rise one after the other 
from the cauldron, all of which only tend to make him feel 
"secure," which indeed proved his "chiefest enemy." How 
perfectly Macbeth recognizes the spirits of darkness when 
he addresses them as "secret, black, midnight hags" and 
asks them what they do ; and how truly they echo back his 
own black heart when they make answer, 

"A deed without a name." 

Having been made to "feel secure," Macbeth still cannot 
feel satisfied until he knows whether 

"Shall Banquo's issue ever 
Reign in this kingdom?" 

and when they would have him "Seek to know no more" 
and he "will be satisfied," they will "grieve his heart," and 
the show of eight kings with Banquo's ghost following, 



148 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

passes before his horrified eyes ; convinced, he would still be 
reassured, he asks "What, is this so?" Whereupon they as- 
sure him that it is, and with a dance vanish with Hecate. 
How in the dance, they deride him as they vanish in air, 
leaving him room for no further questioning. Macbeth has 
been drawn "on to his confusion," has been doomed to work 
out his own complete destruction by Hecate and her sub- 
jects; and now leaving him to himself, having accomplished 
their work, they vanish to appear no more. Can we feel that 
Hecate is an accident, that she has no dramatic purpose in 
this wonderful drama which is based upon the realm of 
blackest darkness of which she is Queen? 

Some have thought the contents of the cauldron too hell- 
ish for Shakespeare's work ; but is it any blacker than the 
heart which, not satisfied with the blood already shed, find- 
ing that Macduff has fled to England, will 

"Give to the edge o' the sword 

His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls 

That trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool ; 

This deed I'll do before the purpose cool. 

But no more sights!" (Act IV, Scene 1.) 

He now has the contents of the cauldron all within his 
own black heart — he can without hesitation, take the life- 
blood of innocent women and babes, and needs no longer call 
upon the demons of darkness for information or help. 

The Porter 

Not only Hecate, but the maudlin, half-drunken Porter, 
has been criticised as a character unworthy of Shakespeare, 
and quite out of place in the play. But "there's method" in 
the Porter. Though he does not comprehend the situation in 
his mind, he seems to intuitively realize it in his soul, as he 
seems to fancy himself porter at hell-gate, and that he is to 
admit to "the everlasting bon-fire" one "who committed 



MACBETH 149 

treason enough for God's sake, yet could not equivocate to 

heaven." Now between the time of the first knocking and 

the entrance of Macduff and Lenox, Macbeth and his wife 

must have time to cleanse themselves of the evidence of 

their guilt; they must wash off their blood stains, undress 

and 

"Get on your night-gown, lest occasion call us 
And show us to be watchers." 

The porter must be a half-wit who can talk against time: 
had he been a bright, wide-awake fellow, attending promptly 
to his business, the visitors would have been admitted long 
before the evidence of guilt could have been washed away 
or concealed, and the drama must have ended. Has not, 
then, the foolish Porter a most decided dramatic purpose? 

Theme 

Every great deed brings with it a great responsibility 
and a great temptation, which the doer of the deed must 
meet. If the man is greater than his deed, he comes out a 
Hero ; if the deed is too great for the man, he yields to the 
temptation, his course is downward, and unless arrested. 
Nemesis follows him tmtil his end is that of a tragic indi- 
vidual. Macbeth's deed is greater than the man, and he can- 
not withstand the temptation. Subjective conflicts he has, it 
is true, but they are prompted by fear of the evil that may re- 
sult, rather than by his intuitive love of the good. 

"That but this blow 
Might be the be-all and the end-all here; 
But here, upon this bank and shore of time, 
We'd jump the life to come." 

While haunted by the ghost of Banquo, his words declare 
that he is a man so bold "that dare look on that which might 
appal the devil." He reaches his climax and is given over to 
the spirit of evil, and declares that 



150 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

"I will to-morrow 
And betimes I will, to the Weird Sisters : 
More shall they speak; for now I am bent to know, 
By the worst means, the worst." 

A laudable deed has implanted an unlaudable ambition, 

'T have no spur 
To prick the sides of my intent, but only 
Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself. 
And falls on the other." (Act I, Scene 7.) 

And thus we see in Macbeth, a noble, though morally weak 
character, wrecked by an unholy ambition and pride. 

Dowden calls this "the tragedy of the twilight and the 
setting in of thick darkness upon a human soul." 

Basis of the Drama 

Before the play opens, Macbeth has performed a worthy 
deed and an unholy ambition has been implanted in his 
heart; this forms a basis for the drama. This ambition is 
still shadowy in the mind of Macbeth ; he ^must have some- 
thing to give it definiteness ; this is the mission of the Weird 
Basis of Sisters ; they meet him ''in the day of success" and 
Action foretell his future greatness, and the thought be- 
gins to take form and gives him a basis of action; he at 
once informs Lady Macbeth, and with her, thought at once 
takes the form of action ; there is no hesitancy here, and the 
action of the drama starts with full force. The foul deed is 
Ethical done, and the harmony of the Ethical World is dis- 
stand- turbed. The deed contains within itself the elements 
pomt Qf death ; harmony must be restored either through 
the repentance of the doer of the evil deed, or he must move 
on to destruction. When brought face to face with his deed 
and contemplating further action, he is ready to call upon 

the powers of darkness, 

"I will to-morrow. 
And betimes I will to the Weird Sisters. 
More they shall speak, for now I am bent to know, 



MACBETH 151 

By the worst means, the worst. 

I am in blood 

Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, 
Returning were as tedious as to go o'er." 

(Act III, Scene 4.) 

And so he madly rushes on to his death ; and the law of 
Tragedy which declares that "Man must live in accord with 
the Ethical World or perish," is satisfied. Harmony 
is restored to the State in the person of Malcolm, 
the rightful claimant of the crown. Thus the Drama which 
is Tragedy for the individual, results in Comedy for the 
State. 

Striicture'^ 

One who has studied the foregoing plays should now be 
able to' trace the structure of a Shakespearean drama. A 
few hints upon this play have already been given. The 
movements, Guilt and Retribution, are not difficult; the su- 
pernatural thread is easily traced ; the second thread, that of 
the natural world, at first thought, seems a little involved. 

Before the play opens, an heroic and laudable deed has 
been done ; Macbeth is 'the hero ; aided by Banquo, he has 
Second put down a rebellion; he has seen retribution follow 
Thread the rebel ; he is a man of courage and of action ; he 
is stronger than the weak King whom he serves, but he is 
not greater than his deed ; having crushed a rebel, he in turn 
becomes a rebel, and an unholy ambition takes possession of 
his soul ; he is ready to respond to the witches, 

"So foul and fair a day I have not seen." 

The crown of Scotland was elective within the hereditary 
nobility : Macbeth was first cousin to Duncan and as near the 
throne by blood as he. Were not his claims as strong by 
blood and by right of manhood stronger? The thought of 

*See Snider's Commentary on Macbeth. 



152 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

kingship was not new to him ; he has thought that at least 
he might be made Prince of Cumberland, that is, Crown- 
prince. 

In tracing the second thread, that of the natural world, 
we see that it starts in this heroic deed with two strands : 
first the temptation which the great act brings with 
Strands ^^' ^^^ second, Opposed to this, the penalty, or retri- 
of bution as shown in the fate of the Thane of Caw- 

Second dor ; Macbeth must believe in both ; we see how he 
Thread yigj^^g ^q the first, and as a necessary consequence 
works out the second. He is by his very nature a man of 
action. ''The very firstlings of my heart, shall be the first- 
lings of my hand." The reflective Hamlet could never, like 
Macbeth, have so rushed on to blood. 

'Tis true, that not being yet entirely given over to the 
"Evil One," he, pauses a moment, the subjective conflict be- 
gins: 

"If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me." 

But he has no moral courage to follow the promptings of his 
better nature. 

The first strand of this thread of the natural world con- 
sists of the deed which involves Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, 
and indirectly Banquo. Note that Fleance scarcely appears 
as an active character in the play, he only speaks twice, and 
then, a matter of no importance; still Fleance forebodes 
trouble. The second strand, the retribution, involves Dun- 
can as the victim, and the other characters are easily traced. 
With these suggestions the threads should be fully traced 
and the action worked out through the movements. 

Study Questions and Suggestive Topics for Discussion 
AND Outline Books 

(A) Review 

1. Define Tragedy. State its law. 

2. Define Ideal Tragedy. 



MACBETH 153 

3. Define Ethics. 

4. Explain the term Ethical World. 

5. Give the principles of Shakespeare's Ethical World. 

6. Show how these points apply to this drama. 

(B) The Play 

1. Where is the scene of the play laid? 

2. Make a map of Scotland showing ,the scene of the 
tragedy. (An excellent one is given in Macbeth of the Sil- 
ver series of English Classics, Silver, Burdett & Co.) 

3. Give the historical basis of the plot. 

4. With what class of society does the play deal? 

5. What is the ethical basis of the drama? 

6. What is the basis of the action? 

7. In this drama, how is the harmony of the Ethical 
World disturbed? How restored? How is harmony re- 
stored to the State? 

8. Why does the drama open on a desolate, barren 
heath, with nature in commotion? 

9. Time analysis. Mr. Daniel gives "Time of the play, 
nine days represented on the stage, and intervals." See if 
you can trace them. 

10. Give a name or title to each act. 

(C) The Supernatural Elements 
First Movement. Guilt 
(a) The Weird Sisters: the tempters. 

1. What is the dramatic purpose of the opening 

scene ? 

Why not leave it out and first introduce the 
reader and the audience to the witches in Scene 
3, when they first appear to Macbeth and Ban- 
quo? 

2. What is the significance of their closing speech? 

"Fair is foul, and foul is fair. 

Hover through the fog and filthy air." 



154 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

3. How do you interpret their conversation in Scene 

3 before Macbeth and Banquo appear? 

4. Can you see any reason for making the witches 
sexless ? 

5. Banquo sees them first and addresses them, but 
they do not speak until Macbeth questions them. 
Why do they not reply to Banquo? 

6. What is their mission in this first movement 

which drives Macbeth to guilt? What office do 
they perform? 

7. At what time in Macbeth's career do they appear 

to him? 

8. What is the effect of their visitation? 

9. When they vanish, what is Macbeth's attitude 

toward them? 

How does Banquo regard them? 

(b) The Dagger. 

1. When does Macbeth see the air drawn-dagger? 

W^hy does he see it? 

2. How is he affected by it? 

3. How does he interpret it? 

4. Is there any particular significance in his refer- 

ence to Hecate at this point? 

5. What is the dramatic purpose of the dagger? 

(c) The Ghost. 

1. At what point in Macbeth's career does he see 

Ghosts ? 

2. Why is he not haunted by the ghost of Duncan 

as well as by that Banquo? 

3. Why does Banquo's ghost appear a second time? 

Is it subjective or objective? 

4. How is Macbeth affected by it ? 



MACBETH 155 

5. Is there any dramatic purpose in having this 

manifestation at the banquet in the presence of 
the nobiUty? 

6. Do you think Macbeth betrays his guilt? 

(d) Nature, omens, etc. 

1. Make a list of the disturbances of nature, in this 
movement, stating when they occur and by 
whom mentioned. 

2. Make a list of the birds of omen, by whom men- 
tioned and when? 

3. In what connection and by whom is the ozvl men- 
tioned ? 

4. What is the dramatic purpose of Scene 1, Act II ? 

Why does the Old Man appear? 

5. Do you see any special significance in Duncan s 

horses? 

6. Give any other superstitious allusions. 

Second Movement. Retribution 

1. This movement is introduced by Hecate's appear- 
ance, Act III, Scene 5 ; then follows the cavern scene. Act 
IV, Scene 1. The first Movement is introduced by the witch 
scene. Act I, Scene 1 ; in Scene 3 they again appear and hold 
their conversation before Macbeth and Banquo arrive. Can 
you trace any similarity of method in these scenes in the two 
movements ? 

2. Compare the introductory conversation of the witch- 
es in the two scenes ; can you see any reason why the second 
is so much more fiendish than the first? 

3. Their first meeting with Macbeth was on a desolate, 
barren heath, their second in a cavern. Why ? 

4. What is the significance and dramatic purpose of 
Hecate? Is she an avenger? How will she punish Mac- 



156 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

beth? When and by whom is she first mentioned in the 
play? 

5. Give her plan. Does she utter any words of truth? 

6. Can you see any dramatic purpose in the hellish con- 
tents of the cauldron? 

7. Make a list of its contents, the animals mentioned, 
in a separate list. 

8. Is there any significance in the mention of the Jew, 
Turk, Tartar and ''birth-strangled babe?" 

9. Interpret the apparitions, first "An armed head;" 
second, "A bloody child ;" third, "A child crowned, with a 
tree in his hand." ' 

10. At this point in Macbeth's career he dares defy- 
these fiendish creatures. Why? 

11. Why is he so horrified at the show of Kings? 

12. Some interpret the lines 

"Some I see 
That two-fold balls and treble scepters carry" 

as referring to the union of the English and Scottish crowns 
and the subjugation of Ireland. Can you see any reason? 

13. Why do the witches deride Macbeth at the last? 
Why is this their last appearance? 

14. Why does the supernatural element drop out of the 
play entirely at this point ? 

General Questions 

1. Why do the Weird Sisters or subjects in the witch- 
world, lead in the temptation to "Guilt" in the first move- 
ment, while Hecate the Queen, plans the "Retribution" in 
the second? 

2. Trace the course of the Weird Sisters consecutively 
through the play as a dramatic element. 



MACBETH 157 

3. How does this element add to the interest of the 
play? Suppose it were left out, and Macbeth were influ- 
enced and impelled simply by natural impulses what would 
be the effect upon the play ? 

Characterization 
(I) Macbeth 

First Movement 

1. In this movement, from first to last, Macbeth is un- 
der the spell of the supernatural ; he responds to the witches, 
not satisfied with what they tell him, he asks for more; 
when they have vanished he says, "Would they had stayed." 
He sees the air-drawn dagger. He hears the voice cry, 
"Sleep no more, Macbeth does murther sleep." "Macbeth 
shall sleep no more." To him the ghost of Banquo appears. 
Why is this ? Is it due to any natural characteristic of heart 
or mind? 

2. Macbeth calls the witches Weird Sisters, they call 
themselves Weird Sisters, otherwise they are spoken of as 
witches ; can you see any significance in this ? 

3. Why does he so at once respond to the Weird Sis- 
ters? In what lies the secret of their influence over him? 

4. Had Macbeth any claim to the Scottish crown? Is 
the thought of the murder of Duncan new to him? 

5. Interpret his speech (aside) beginning "Two truths 
are told, etc." (Act I, Scene 3.) 

6. "If chance will have me king, why, chance may 
crown me, without my stir." What subjective conflict is he 
having ? 

7. What obstacles does he see lying in his way to the 

crown ? 

"Yet let that be 
Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see." 



158 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

Interpret. Did the time come when he was afraid to think 
what he had done and did not dare ''look on't again." 

8. Why does he hasten to confide the news to Lady 
Macbeth by letter, instead of waiting to tell her when he 
was to see her so soon? Do you see any dramatic purpose 
in it ? 

9. Does the promise of the crown at all imply the neces- 
sity of the murder of the king? 

10. What are his arguments against committing the 
deed: what does he acknowledge to be his only cause? 

11. How does he argue with Lady Macbeth? 

12. Give the steps in his subjective conflict from his 
first meeting with the Weird Sisters until Macduff and 
Lennox enter after the murder? Does he in any way hold 
the Weird Sisters responsible for what he does? 

13 Having performed a laudible deed, why does he 
yield to this black temptation instead of responding to Dun- 
can's spirit of love and gratitude? 

14. In Act II, Scene 2, where is Macbeth when he calls 
"Who's there ? What, ho !" Why does he call ? Is it before 
or after he has committeed the deed ? 

15. Would he have committed the deed had it not been 
for Lady Macbeth? 

16. Is his subjective conflict caused by remorse or fear 
of consequences? If the latter, would you call it conscience? 

17. "Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou 
couldst!" Is Macbeth sincere? 

18. In Act II, Scenes 2 and 3, compare Macbeth and 
Lady Macbeth. 

19. When lady Macbeth calls for help, how does Mac- 
beth respond ? How do you account for his indifference ? 

20. Can you see that at the banquet, Macbeth calls up 
the spirit of Banquo both times that it appears ? 



MACBETH 159 

21. Macbeth once seated upon the throne with but little 
opposition, why does he not rest? 

"There's not a one of them but in his house 
I keep a servant fee'd." 

Explain. What state of mind does this show? 

Second Movement 

1. At the opening of the play, or first movement which 
develops guilt, the Weird Sisters meet Macbeth in the day 
of his "success." He has now all that they promised, he is 
King, with seemingly but little opposition. Banquo is dead ; 
Fleance has not been heard from ; Duncan's sons have exiled 
themselves ; but Macduff the powerful Thane of Fife, re- 
fuses to respond to his bidding, at least Macbeth hears so; 
his peace of mind is disturbed ; he resolves to consult the 
Weird Sisters and the second Movement, Refribution, be- 
gins. 

Evidently the first meeting with these creatures of dark- 
ness is objective, that is, it comes to him from without, he 
does not consciously will it; although he has that within 
which responds to their call; the second is subjective; the 
thought originates in his mind, the interview is of his own 
seeking. Why ? 

2. How does Macbeth know where to find the Weird 
Sisters ? 

3. He visits them in their cavern, when the interview 
closes they vanish, he says, 'Where have they gone?" Evi- 
dently hearing some one, he calls "Come in, without there !" 
and Lenox enters, he is sure Lenox must have seen them 
as they passed, but, "No indeed, my Lord." Where was 
Macbeth? 

4. What point in his mental career has Macbeth 
reached when he can sav 



160 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

"I am m blood 
Stepp'd in so far, that should I wade no more, 
Returning were as tedious as go o'er." 

5. In this final interview, what are the two prophecies 
which finally 

"By the strength of their illusion 

. . . draw him on to his confusion." 

6. When the prophecies of the Weird Sisters accord 
with Macbeth's desires, what is his attitude toward them? 
When contrary to his desires what does he do? 

7. Compare the two interviews, what does the first pre- 
dict? What the second? 

8. When and why does he discard the Weird Sisters al- 
together? Has he made his own witch- world? 

9. After the final interview he hears no more voices, he 
sees no ghosts, the supernatural world seems to have lost its 
hold upon him. Why ? 

10. After the interview what did he do? 

11. Compare his attitude toward Lady Macbeth in the 
second movement with that in the first. How is he afifected 
by her death ? 

12. Why does he murder Lady Macduff and her child- 
ren? Does he give a reason? 

13. At what point in his career does he resolve to mur- 
der them? 

14. Is the rebellion against him a natural outcome of his 
course of conduct ? From an ethical standpoint show how it 
must follow. 

15. In what does he put confidence at last? 

16. Why does the news of the Queen's death come in 
conjunction with the news of the approaching army? 

17. How is he affected by the news that "Birnam wood 
now is moving"? 



MACBETH 161 

18. What does he mean by "they have tied me to a 
stake?" Who has tied him? 

19. Does he fear Macduff? 

20. Does Macbeth reach a point where he defies retri- 
bution? What is the spiritual condition of a man who 
reaches this point? 

21. Is there any ethical reason why Macbeth should 
come to his death at the hands of Macduff? 

22. Show in Macbeth's case how "the deed returns 
upon the doer" and the law of Tragedy is fulfilled. 

General Questions 

1. Trace Macbeth's career and his subjective conflicts 
through the first movement and through the second and 
compare. 

2. Is he suspected of the murder of Duncan? 
If you think so, give your proof. 

3. Is he suspected of the murder of Banquo? 

4. He is willing to use the murderers for his own pur- 
poses ; , at the same time in what catalogue does he class 
them ? 

5. Make a list of the murders committed by Macbeth, 
which take place in the presence of the audience. Why are 
not Duncan and the grooms murdered on the stage? 

6. He "murthers sleep" — Is he guilty of any other "sub- 
jective" murders? 

7. What was Macbeth's philosophy of life and death? 
References : Act I, Scene 7 ; Act II, Scene 3 ; Act III, Scene 
2 ; Act V, Scenes 3 and 5. 

8. What is the lesson of Macbeth's life and death ? 

9. Which shows the greater affection the one for the 
other, Macbeth or Lady Macbeth? 

10. Make a list of the times Macbeth uses the word fear 
or alludes to fear in the play. 



162 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

11. How many times does he use the word blood or 
bloody f 

12. How many times used by Lady Macbeth? How 
many by others ? 

(H.) Lady Macbeth 

First Movement 

1. We are first introduced to Lady Macbeth reading the 
letter from her husband ; in her remarks, how does she in- 
terpret him and what does she determine to do? 

2. From this can you determine her function or dra- 
matic purpose in the play? Dramatically, in what relation 
does she stand to Macbeth and the Weird Sisters? 

3. The Weird Sisters are not objective to Lady Mac- 
beth, that is, she does not see them physically as Macbeth 
does. Are they subjective? Are they within her? 

i. Does she work in conjunction with them or in op- 
position to them ? 

5. Her first speech as a key note to her character indi- 
cates what? 

6. In her next soliloquy upon what spirits does she call? 
When she would unsex herself what does she really be- 
come ? 

7. Interpret her greeting of Macbeth. 

8. How does Macbeth greet her? Compare. 

9. What responsibility does Lady Macbeth crave? 

10. Has she a conscience? 

11. Compare Macbeth's first greeting of his wife with 
the speech beginning, ''Bring forth men-children only." 

Is there any change in his attitude toward her? In the 
last speech do you think he really admires her? 

12. Does she show courage? If so, what kind? At 
what point does she begin to show nervousness? When 
does she first use an endearing term for Macbeth? 



MACBETH 163 

13. How does she bear herself after the deed has been 
committed ? 

14. Macduff says, ''Our royal blaster's murdered" and 
Lady Macbeth replies, "Woe, alas! What, in our house?" 
Interpret. 

15. How do you account for her fainting and having to 
be carried out? 

16. She next appears when Macbeth is planning the 
murder of Banquo ; does she comprehend him ? AVhy does 
he not as before, seek her aid in his plans? 

17. What characteristics does she show in the banquet 
scene? Compare with the ''knocking at the gate" scene. 
Does she Icnow of Banquo's murder ? 

18. Why does she quiet the guests and urge them to 
sit, the first time that Macbeth sees the ghost, and urge them 
to go the second time? 

19. When Macbeth decides to visit the Weird Sisters, 
and discusses his crime, how does she meet him? 

20. Compare her attitude toward Macbeth before and 
after the murder. 

.21. By the close of the first movement do you notice 
any softening of her nature? 

Second Movement 

1. Lady Macbeth has no active part in this movement; 
can you explain why she so suddenly drops out? 

2. What dramatic purpose does she serve in Act V? 

3. Why does the Gentlewoman refuse to tell the doctor 
what Lady Macbeth says in her night-walking? 

4. What has brought her into this condition ? 

5. Give the points which she is evidently reviewing in 
her mind. 

6. Is there an}^ evidence that she is implicated in any of 
the murders except that of Duncan? 



164 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

7. Compare Lady Macbeth with herself, before and 
after the murder of Duncan. 

8. Scene I, Act V, is called the "night-walking scene." 

Name it from Lady Macbeth's mental condition ; what does 

it portray? 

General Questions 

1. Make lists of Lady Macbeth's characteristics as 
shown before and after the murder, placing the strongest 
first. 

2. In preparation for her bloody work, Lady Macbeth 
calls upon the "spirits" to unsex her; here she murders her 
womanhood. Complete the list of these "subjective" mur- 
ders. 

3. From the characteristics shown in the first move- 
ment, would you expect Lady Macbeth to break down "unto 
death" as she does at the last? Why does Shakespeare 
make her do so? 

4. Did Lady Macbeth truly repent? If so, why was 
she not saved? Do you find any evidence of conscience 
conflict ? 

5. From an ethical standpoint, what brings her to her 
tragic end ; was it love for her husband, or ambition for 
herself, or what was it? What do you think of her as a 
wife ? 

6. Show in Lady Macbeth's case, how the "deed re- 
turns upon the doer," and the law of Tragedy is fulfilled. 

7. What is the first really womanly expression that 
Lady Macbeth makes? 

8. Did she take her own life? Is there any evidence? 

(Ill) Banquo 

1. What is Banquo's first impression of the witches? 
He sees them, hence they are objective; are they subjective? 



MACBETH 165 

2. What is his attitude toward them? Is he quite sure 
himself? Discuss his speech beginning "Good Sir, why do 
you start, etc." 

3. Interpret their message "Lesser than Macbeth, etc." 

4. Interpret his speech "That trusted home, etc." Do 
you see any evidence that Banquo thinks the message of the 
Weird Sisters to Macbeth may tempt him to -crime ? 

5 "A heavy summons lies like lead upon me, 

And yet I could not sleep. Merciful powers. 
Restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature 
Gives way to in repose!" (Act II, Scene 1). 

What cursed thoughts? Why does he dream of the 
witches ? 

6. Act III, Scene 1. Does Banquo suspect Macbeth's 
guilt? What is his attitude now toward the witches? What 
does he mean by "But hush ! no more." ? 

7. Is it a natural thing for a man to use his last hour 
before a royal banquet for a ride? What is the dramatic 
purpose of Banquo's ride? 

8. In Act III, Scene 3, why introduce the Third Mur- 
derer? Some think it is Macbeth himself. Do you see any 
evidence? If so, is he recognized by the others and is there 
a dramatic purpose in it? 

9. Banquo is killed. Why does Fleance escape? What 
is the dramatic purpose in having him escape ? 

10. From the ethical standpoint of tragedy, can you see 
why Banquo should come to this tragic end? Of what has 
he been guilty? 

11. Had he conquered the "cursed thoughts" to which 
he referred in Act 11, Scene 1 ? 

12. If we know that a crime has been committed, are 
we held accountable if we take no steps to expose it? 

13. Discuss sins of omission and sins of commission. 



166 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

General Questions. 

1. Was it wise for Malcolm and Donalbain to flee the 
countr}^ ? 

2. In Act IV, Scene 3, what is the object of the con- 
versation between the doctor, Malcolm, and Macduff just 
before Ross enters? 

3. What is Macduff's greatest inspiration to lead an 
army against Macbeth? 

4. What dramatic purpose does Ross play? Does he 
seem to have any especial mission ? 

5. Is the play relieved by any traces of sweetness, or 
charms of nature, any traces of humor or of religion? 
Find the word angel. How many times does it occur? 

6. Compare the night of the murder with the night 
before the assassination of Caesar. 

7. Compare the motives for the killing of Caesar and 
the killing of Duncan. 

8. By whom is the institution of the Family repre- 
sented in this play? Compare the domestic relations of the 
families of Brutus and Macbeth. 

9. Compare Macbeth and Lady Macbeth with Brutus 
and Portia. 

10. What is the moral lesson of the drama? 

Scheme for Outline Book. 

(I). The Drama. 

(a) Define Tragedy. State its law. 

(b) Define Real and Ideal Tragedy. 

(c) Define Ethics. Explain the term Ethical World. 

(d) Give the principles of Shakespeare's Ethical 
World and show how this drama illustrates 
them. 



MACBETH 167 

(II) The Play. 

(a) Classify and give reasons. 

(b) State the basis of the plot and of the action. 

(c) The first act or the Exposition may be called 
"The Temptation." Name the other acts. 

(d) Work out the plot by means of a graphic illus- 
tration. 

(e) Make a diagram of the entrance and exits of 
characters. 

(f) Trace the supernatural element through the 
play and show how Macbeth is influenced by it. 

(g) Trace the steps in Macbeth's career of crime, 
.showing how he is affected by the murder of 

Duncan, 
(h) Make lists of the characteristics of Macbeth 

and Lady Macbeth, 
(i) What is the theme of the play? The moral? 
(j) In the drama, how is the harmony of the Ethical 

World disturbed? How restored? How is 

harmony restored to the state? 
(k) Give five quotations from Macbeth which show 

his misgivings concerning his deed. Give five 

from Lady Macbeth showing her will-power, 

and that she herself is a Weird Sister. Give 

five common sayings. 

Home Reading 

1. Romeo and Jidiet. 

2. Much Ado About Nothing. 

3. A Winter s Tale. 

4. Henry IV. Part I. 
In each of these state 

1. What is the deed which caused disturbance in 
the Ethical World? Who commits it? 



168 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

3. The result of bringing the individual face to face 

with his deed. 

4. One quotation from each act of the play. 

Topics for Essays and Discussion 

1. The supernatural as an element in the play. 

2. Macbeth, his relations to the supernatural. 

3. Lady Macbeth's relation to the Weird Sisters. 

4. Banquo, the Man, and his relation to the Weird 
Sisters. 

5. Macbeth, the Man. 

6. Lady Macbeth, the Woman. 

7. The Cauldron and the Apparitions. 

8. History at the time of the action of the play. 

9. History at the time of the writing of the play. 

10. Duncan, the Man, King and Victim. 

11. Macbeth and Banquo compared. 

12. Macbeth ; his Ambition ; his Deed and its effect 
upon him. 

13. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth compared. 

14. Macbeth before and after the Deed. 

15. Lady Macbeth before and after the Deed. 

16. The first and second prophecies of the Weird Sis- 
ters. 

17. Blood in the play. 

18. Fear in the play. 

19. Sympathy for Macbeth and for Lady Macbeth. 

20. Macduff and his family. 

21. Macbeth's philosophy of Life and Death. 

22. The superstitious elements in Macbeth and Julius 
CcBsar compared. That is, convulsions in nature, appari- 
tions, omens, etc. 

23. The Night- Walking scene. 

24. The Rapid action of the Play. 



MACBETH 169 

25. The Moral Lesson of the Play. 

26. The Merits of the Play as a Drama. 

27. Nemesis in the Play. (Contrast the manner of 
Macbeth's and Lady Macbeth's death.) 

28. Motives for killing Caesar and Duncan compared. 

29. Shakespeare's knowledge of animal life as shown 
in the drama of Macbeth. (Comparative allusions to 
animals and plants.) 



HAMLET 171 

A Study in Hamlet 
Sidelights 

Not Denmark's famous astronomer, Tycho Brahe, nor 
her great sculptor, Thorvaldsen, nor her deservedly re- 
nowned writer, Hans Christian Andersen, no, not all com- 
bined, have contributed so much to make her world- 
renowned as her Hamlet, whose only existence is in Shakes- 
peare's wonderful drama. It is safe to say that more has 
been written upon Hamlet than upon any other one piece of 
the world's literature : indeed, it has been stated that the 
Hamlet literature equals that of the entire literature of 
some of the smaller European peoples.* 

Hamlet, Shakespeare's most psychological drama, evi- 
dently went through many changes before it reached its 
Evolu- present form. Entered at the Stationers, in 1602, 
tion of printed in 1603, the title page of the edition of 1604 
the play bears the statement ''enlarged to almost as much 
again as it was." By this time the poet had reached his 
maturity in every sense of the term; he had accumulated a 
competence and had settled his family in New Place, Strat- 
ford. He had not passed thus far through life free from 
heart sorrow ; his only son, Hamnet, died in 1596 : the death 
of his father in 1601 would naturally turn his thoughts to 
the life beyond. His contact with the outside world had 
disclosed life in all its phases ; scandals in high life were by 
no means rare ; he was now passing through the dis- 
appointing experience of all who have high ideals in youth ; 
to whom the world, when they first step out into its ac- 
tivities, looks fair and trustworthy. To what extent his 



*See Brandes' Shakespeare. 



172 STUDIES IN THE- SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

own soul-experiences, combined with the immoral atmos- 
phere of his environments, might heve caused the mental 
mood which gave birth to this wonderful reflective drama, 
is of course mere conjecture, but at the same time it is not 
without interest. 

This we know, that the Poet is now in his most reflec- 
tive mood ; his mind is attuned to the creation of the re- 
flective Hamlet; how much of his own soul-questionings 
upon purity, life, death and immortality, he has put into 
this play, we may feel rather than know ; certain it is, we 
find here what we find in no other play ; one critic says 
that what Shakespeare gave Hamlet "of his own nature 
was its unfathomable depth." 

Hamlet has been called the ''Sphinx of literature," but 
the riddle has never been solved, and therein lies the charm ; 
The when a riddle is solved it has lost its interest. 
Sphinx The most profound minds have brought their 

keenest insight to bear upon Hamlet the Adan and Hamlet 
the Drama, but they can only agree upon the most vital 
points, if indeed they agree upon these, and hence it is well 
to read with caution the criticisms which some, even emi- 
nent critics, pass upon others who differ from them in their 
interpretation or their methods. 

The play is always new; it never grows old, because it 
grows along with us ; in youth we read it with interest and 
Interest ^^^^ ^^^ quick blood of the impulsive Hamlet; as 
in the we have seen more of life, we ourselves, become 
Play reflective Hamlets, and we turn to it again and 
again, and it unfolds to us its depths of the philosophy of 
life and immortality, with an interest and a beauty hereto- 
fore unthought of. Helps we may have, and helps we may 
need, to enable us to delve below the surface and to read be- 
tween the lines of this most profound of Shakespeare's 
dramas, and then each must solve the riddle for himself. 



HAMLET 173 

Mr. Barrett Wendell well says : "After all, the chief thing is 
not that we should define the play, but that we should know 
it; and Hamlet is a play which everybody ought to know. 
It is surely the work in English literature to which allusions 
are most constant and most widely intelligible,"* and hence 
we may say "The play's the thing to study." 

A Few^ Points of Interest About the Play and its 

Contents 

Length 

This is Shakespeare's longest drama. f it contains 3930 
lines; (Globe Edition) (more than twice the length of the 
shortest play, Comedy of Errors, with 1778 lines) of these 
lines Hamlet speaks 1420, or more than one-third of the en- 
tire play, and almost three-fourths as many lines as the en- 
tire play of Macbeth. Besides his "aside" remarks, he re- 
flects in seven soliloquies, ranging in length from 12 to 58 
lines each ; he also expresses himself to others in many long 
speeches. 

Ghost 

This is the only play in which Shakespeare has intro- 
duced the objective Ghost: that is, in which the dis-embodied 
spirit again assumes its body and is seen by those for whom 
it has no especial message. The Poet has taken great pains 
to make the Ghost objective. Act I contains the accumu- 
lated Ghost-lore of the ages. 

Phases of the Drama 

The play itself is Ideal Tragedy ; look closely and you 
will find in it a perfect Real Comedy; then we have the 
^'play within the play" which is Real Tragedy. 

*William Shakespeare, page 251. 

fThe statement has been made that Antony and Cleopatra is the 
longest play; comiting the lines will settle the point. 



174 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

Play Acting 

Hamlet's instructions to the players give Shakespeare's 
idea of the proper acting of a play. The Dramatist gives 
some London customs of his own time ; theatres were closed 
during Lent and players traveled about the country, per- 
forming at courts and wherever they had opportunity; 
young people of the Guilds gave dramatic entertainments 
which grew to be so popular that they became a menace to 
the regular actors. 

Ethical Principles 

In the King- we see how unbridled lust and ambition 
drives the individual on to the worst crime ; the voice of 
conscience silenced, the guilty individual hesitates at 
nothing until finally, caught in his own trap, his 
deed returns upon his own head and he meets his 
tragic end. Again in the Queen we see how virtue, simply as 
a negative quality is only sham, and falls an easy prey to 
hypocrisy and lust, and through lack of vital principle is 
overpowered and works out its own destruction. Still again, 
in Ophelia we see how Love and Purity, unsupported by con- 
science and strength, neglecting opportunities to act, fall an 
easy prey to the worldly wise and the schemer, cannot har- 
monize with their environments, and go out in darkness ; 
thus even the highest principles must be active, when merely 
passive they are not self-sustaining. The soul is held just as 
strongly responsible for omission as for commission. 

In Ethical elements, we find the institutional person ; the 
moral person ; a whole family utterly devoid of conscience : 
Ethical ^^^ mediated institutional person ; the perfectly 
Char- mediated moral person, who has fought life's bat- 
acters ties and so completely overcome that he has put all 
things under his feet and risen to the heights where "in suf- 
fering all that suffers nothing." 



HAMLET 175 

Here we find theories of life from the purely worldly- 
wise standpoint. The theory of life, death and immortality 
Theories from the German or Christian standpoint, showing 

of Life the influence of the Reformation, 
and Death 

Insanity 

The play shows two phases of insanity. Hamlet's which 
if feigned, so closely resembles that form which manifests 
itself in melancholy moods, that it is studied by physicians 
as genuine. Of the insanity of Ophelia there is no question ; 
this form manifests itself in pathetic song, flower decora- 
tions, etc., and finally goes out in darkness. 

National Ch ar act eristics 

We are shown the manners and customs of Denmark, 
and have a good picture of life at the court. French thought 
and life are brought out in contrast with German thought 
and life. We are shown the relations between Denmark and 
Norway, and England, and the condition of Poland. 

Let not the student think that this by any means ex- 
hausts the list of gems found in this wonderful drama; let 
him verify these points and he will then be prepared to 
search for more. 

The Foreign Element 

Norway, Represented by Fortinbras 

This element hovers over the drama from beginning to 

end; although Fortinbras himself appears in person only to 

claim the promise of permit to pass through Denmark on his 

way to Poland, and on his return, just in time to accept the 

crown of Denmark which falls to him by election. The play 

opens with the din of warlike preparations ''whose sore task 

does not divide the Sunday from the week," 

"this sweaty haste 

Doth make the night joint laborer with the day." 



176 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

It devolves upon Horatio "who knows things" to explain 
why, and we learn that the Prince of Norway, young Fort- 
inbras "of unimproved mettle hot and full ; hath in the 
skirts of Norway here and there, sharked up a list of lawless 
resolutes," and comes in warlike array against Denmark to 
recover certain lands which had been won from his father 
by King Hamlet, in a "dared combat" in which the elder 
Fortinbras was slain. There could be no just cause for this 
action, however, because the provisions of the combat were 
perfectly fair to both sides ; according to the laws of her- 
aldry, the winner was to receive the reward. 

During the minority of young Fortinbras, Norway, his 
old bedridden rmcle was in authority ; taking advantage of 
Fortin- ^^^ condition, the hot-headed young jack-a-napes, 
bras' unbeknown to the old man, gathers up a band of out- 
rebellion laws and proceeds against Denmark; thus we see 
that Fortinbras is first in rebellion against his own govern- 
ment, and second in rebellion against Denmark, since 
he was violating the "law of compact" in making 
the raid. King Claudius who always plans doubly, gets 
ready to meet him ; but, diplomat that he is, he first sends 
ambassadors to old Norway to see if the matter cannot be 
settled peaceably. Here we see a fine stroke of dramatic 
purpose on the part of the Poet. Rebel that the young hot- 
head is, we would expect that when called to account by the 
old. uncle, he would show his mettle and again take advan- 
tage of the old man's condition, and in defiance of authority, 
pursue his own course, but no, 

"he in brie'f, obeys ; 
Receives rebuke from Norway; and, in fine, 
Makes vow before his luicle never more 
To give th' assay of arms against your Majesty. 
Whereon old Norway, overcome with joy, 
Gives him three thousand crowns in annual fee." 



HAMLET 177 

and shows such impHcit faith in the young man's sincerity 
Forrin- '^^'^^^ ^'^^ allows him to keep his armed soldiers to go 
bras against the Poles "with an entreaty" that he may 

mediated have "quiet pass" through Denmark on his way 
thither ; by giving this permit, Claudius also shows his faith 
in the young man. 

Thus Fortinbras who has destroyed the harmony of the 
Ethical World by his armed rebellion, restores harmony 
by his repentance, and thus becomes a mediated character, 
and is thereby fitted to restore harmony to the state of 
Denmark by accepting her crown when the final grand ca- 
tastrophe robs her of both King and Prince. We also see 
that if Fortinbras had not repented, but had carried his 
arms against Denmark, the King must have given his at- 
tention to war instead of to Hamlet, and the play would 
have been spoiled, or the plot must have been constructed 
on a different basis. 

Fortinbras is pre-eminently an Institutional person ; his 

spirit is primarily the spirit of nationality, of government, 

consequently he is a man of action ; he will fight for 

Fortin- what he supposes to be the rights of the state, al- 

bras an though the gain may not be worth the powder spent 

. in acquiring it; here he presents a most striking 
person contrast to Hamlet. He first appears in person in 
the play to ''claim the conveyance of a promised 
march over Claudius' kingdom. We notice that the Poet 
has brought him in just as Flamlet is about to embark for 
England, with the king still alive. Hamlet's soliloquy at 
this point shows what a painful reminder this is of his own 
inaction, and he boards the vessel full of bloody thoughts 
but weary, weary of his burdens. 

Let us now look back a little, and see how this Fort- 
inbras, who scarcely appears as a personality in the play, is 
linked with the state, with the King, and with Hamlet. 



178 STUDIES IN TPIE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

A King must be active, not a mere figure-head, or things 
will go wrong, as was shown in the case of old Norway. 
Fortin- Fortinbras' very activity brings him into conflict 
bras with the state of Denmark; his repentance restores 
and the harmony both in the Ethical World and the ex- 
State ternal world, and he thus becomes fitted to restore 
harmony to the state of Denmark in the end, by becoming 
her king. 

It is through Fortinbras that the King is enabled to show 
his diplomatic statesmanship ; he thus in the drama links 
Fortin- Claudius to the business world. This is the only 
bras instance in which the Poet has shown Claudius in 
and the state relations, engaged in affairs of state ; all of 
^^^S his other acts in some way relate to Hamlet. 

We are first introduced to the King in the room of 
state to give audience to three groups of persons ; Volti- 
mand and Cornelius, who are there strictly on business of 
State; Laertes, who has a personal request to make, and 
Hamlet, a member of the family; the King shows his busi- 
ness-like mind by addressing himself to business first; he 
gives the ambassadors their commission to old Norway. 

"Giving to you no further personal power 

To business with the King more than the scope 

Of those dilated articles allow." 

They are by no means to be Ministers Plenipotentiary ; 
he will be "every inch a King." Thus he will try what 
diplomacy will do toward the settlement of the difficulty be- 
fore resorting to force of arms. Hence it will be seen how 
necessary Fortinbras is to bring out the full character of the 
King. As the Institutional person whose mind is wholly cen- 
tered upon affairs of State, and who carries this thought 
into violent action, Fortinbras presents a most marked con- 
trast to Hamlet. 



HAMLET 179 

Denmark's King and Hamlet's father has been murdered ; 
the lost crown is but a secondary consideration with Ham- 
Fortin- ^^^> "^^^^ ^^^ murder of his father he never can get 
bras courage to revenge. In the combat by which Nor- 
and way lost the land, Norway lost her King, and Fort- 

Hamlet inbras lost his father, but Fortinbras in contrast 
to Hamlet, seems not to think of his father, but cares only to 
regain the lost ground for the State. His coming to Den- 
mark just as Hamlet is about to embark for England, 
serves only to '^set up a glass" in which Hamlet ''can see 
the inmost part" of himself. Hamlet here recognizes the 
man who possesses the qualities which he lacks ; the active 
man of the state ; the man with the ability to govern ; and 
the Poet brings Fortinbras back from Poland just in time 
to receive Hamlet's dying blessing upon his election to the 
crown of Denmark, which Hamlet foresees. 

It is readily seen that this foreign element serves a very 
important dramatic purpose in the play. 

The Family Institution 

The institution of the Family is represented first, by 
the Royal family, and second, by the Polonius family. Be- 
The tween these two families there is a marked contrast ; 
Royal the Royal family are all guilty of crime, from the 
Family King, who hesitates at nothing in order to ac- 
complish his purpose, to Hamlet, who acts upon the impulse 
of the moment and kills Polonius ; but even in the vile 
King, the voice of conscience still speaks ; and the Queen 
sees in her soul 

"Such black and grained spots 
As will not leave their tinct." 

Gertrude's mother-instinct has not been entirely crushed by 
her lack of moral principle ; in fact it is her one redeeming 
trait. Hamlet is the victim of conscience. 



180 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

The Polonius family, on the contrary commit no great 
crime; they all make a fair outward showing to the world, 
rpi^g but they are utterly devoid of true moral principle; 
Polonius of conscience they have none ; even Polonius' advice 
Family to Laertes which is catchy and sounds well, is 
purely worldly-wise and contains not a line, which if 
closely followed would make the young man a nobler moral 
character. In his charges to Reynaldo, Polonius encourages 
the very vices in his son which he sends Reynaldo to spy out. 
He can malign Hamlet's character, use Ophelia as a trap to 
catch him, give his own daughter lessons in deceit, but 
conscience never gives him a prick, and he goes on until 
lack of principle works out his destruction. 

Laertes is the true son of his father ; he too, can malign 
Hamlet; he can raise an armed rebellion upon mere sus- 
picion of the King's guilt; he can at once fall in with the 
King's plot to take Hamlet's life, and to make assurance 
doubly sure, he can poison his foil; but all of these things 
''are not near his conscience," for conscience he has none. 

Alas ! that poor Ophelia, sweet and gentle, should have 
been so unfortunate as to have her lot cast in this con- 
scienceless family, but here we find her; she can hear her 
father and brother besmirch Hamlet's character and 
scarcely enter a protest ; she cannot even defend her lover 
in whom she, herself, sees no fault; she can become a tool 
in the hands of her father to entrap Hamlet and bring him 
to destruction; at last her mind gives way under the strain 
of her great loss and she goes out in darkness, but her 
broken, pathetic snatches of song, contain no twinges of 
remorse for her unjust treatment of Hamlet ; conscience 
conflict there is none. In this family the mother-element is 
entirely lacking; this calls forth our sympathy for Ophelia 
and we feel like condoning what we otherwise could not 
excuse. The redeeming quality of this family is their de- 



HAMLET 181 

votion to each other ; the son and daughter, having no 
higher ideas of Hfe than the father, are devoted to him, 
obedient and ever ready to defend him; but we can readily 
see how selfishness and cunning, without conscience, can 
work only destruction in the end. 

The Contradictory Hamlet. 

In the wide range of literature, where can be found a 
character which is indeed such a sphinx? One who is so 
constantly contradictory. He is sane and he is insane. He 
is active and he is inactive. He is strong of purpose, and 
he is weak of will. He loves Ophelia, but he is cruel to her. 
He recoils against blodshed, but he can kill Polonius and 
send Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their death. He is im- 
pulsive, yet he is reflective and deliberate. He is a quick 
wit, a merry jester and a profound theologian. Small 
wonder that the subjective conflict rages so fiercely. His 
outward appearance is by no means uniform. Hamlet's 
various phases are so distinct that they may be classified. 

f I. As he appears to the world before his 

1. Outward! father's death. 

Hamlet i 2. As he appears at court after his mother's 
[ marriage. 

2. Inner f i. The Instinctive or Impulsive. 
Hamlet J 2. The Imaginative. 

Four ' 3. The Moral and Religious. 
Phases ' [ 4. The Intellectual or Reflective. 

The inner or subjective Hamlet manifests these four 
phases ; at times he comes strongly under the spell of one 
characteristic and then of another, thus seemingly contra- 
dicting himself, when in reality he is perfectly natural. It 
almost seems that the Poet, in Hamlet, wishes to present 
the whole range of the human mind. 



182 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

1. The Impulsive Hamlet would "haste to know" the 
circumstances of his father's murder. 

"That I, with wings as swift 
As meditation or the thoughts of love, 
May sweep to my revenge." 

2. The Imaginative Hamlet thinks he sees his father 

"In my mind's eye, Horatio." 

3. The Moral Hamlet is so crushed by the conduct of 
his mother that he wishes 

"The Everlasting had not fixed 
His cannon 'gainst self-slaughter." 

But since the "Evarlasting" has fixed this law, the religious 
Hamlet withholds his hand and refrains from taking his 
own life. The moral Hamlet conflicts with the outer world, 
he finds "the time is out of joint," and when he realizes that 
it devolves upon him to set it right, he rebels. 

4. The Reflective Hamlet cannot act. 

"Thus conscience does make cowards of us all ; 
And thus the native hue of resolution 
Is sickled o'er with the pale cast of thought: 
And enterprises of great pith and moment 
With this regard their currents turn awry, 
And lose the name of action." 

When the Impulsive Hamlet stops to argue with the Re- 
flective Hamlet, the latter always gets the better of the ar- 
gument and action is either delayed or altogether fore- 
stalled. 

The Impulsive Hamlet can act ; the Intellectual Hamlet, 
though he cannot plan deliberate action for himself, can 
thwart the plans of others ; even the deep laid plans of the 
King and the schemes of the wily Polonius fail through 
Hamlet's keen insight and quick wit; he seems intuitively to 
read their very minds. 



HAMLET 183 

Notice the effect of action upon the inactive Hamlet. It 
seems as though he were standing at one side and watching 
Effect ^^^^ drama of his own life enacted. He determines 
of "to put an antic disposition on" and then it seems 

Action sport to him to work out the result. He enjoys 
baffling the King to such an extent that for the time he 
seems to lose sight of his original intent. It is such a 
pleasure to throw sand in the eyes of Polonius that he 
tantalizes "the tedious old fool" just for the pleasure of 
watching his bewilderment. He "sets up a glass" for his 
mother where she "may see the inmost part of" her, and 
the active mill grinds until the Ghost must appear to stop it : 
he kills Polonious and, presto ! — the Impulsive Hamlet has 
at last downed the Reflective Hamlet and conscience con- 
flicts are over, now, 

"Let it work; 
For 'tis the sport to have the engineer 
Hoist his own petar: and it shall go hard 
But I will delve one yard below their mines, 
And blow them at the Moon. O, 'tis most sweet 
When in one line two crafts directly meet !" 

(Act III, Scene 4.) 

And so he can send Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to death 
and say ''They are not near my conscience;" and he can at 
last face death itself feeling that "there is a special provi- 
dence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, 'tis not to 
come ; if it be not to come, it will be now ; if it be not now, 
yet it will come; the readiness is all." 

Source of Plot 

Suggestions for the plot are found in the legend of 
Hamblet in Saxo Cramaticus, and in other old tragedies. 
This story is usually given in the school editions of the 
play. Former reference to Shakespeare's use of materials 
renders it unnecessary to say more on this point here ; an 
illustration, however, is interesting. In the Saxon story 



184 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN PRAMA 

this reflection is voiced upon the hasty marriage of the 

widow. "Thus it is with all the promises of women; they 

are scattered like chaff before the wind and pass away 

like waves of the sea. Who then will trust to a woman's 

heart, which changes as flowers shed their leaves, as seasons 

change and as new events wipe out the traces of those that 

went before?" Shakespeare says, "Frailty, thy name is 

woman." 

The Play 

Before the play opens, a most foul and horrible deed 
has been committed ; the Ethical World is disturbed, its 

harmony must be restored : this forms the basis 

Basis r js 

for a drama. 

The manner of the deed is such that no positive evi- 
dence of it exists, mystery begins the play. We may say 
Basis of that even the deed itself is not objective. The 
Play sudden and mysterious death of the King and the 
hasty marriage of the Queen give the only objective basis 
for a plot. Hamlet seems to be the only one upon whom 
these events have made any very decided impression. 

The mystery connected with this death must be revealed 
in order to give a basis for any action ; the Ghost reveals 
Hamlet's ^^^ deed to Hamlet and charges him to revenge it; 
Basis Hamlet now has a starting point from which to 
of Action work. 

The King's guilty conscience and Hamlet's peculiar 
manner cause him to feel that Hamlet suspects him of foul 
King's P^^y ' ^^^^ gives him a basis for action ; Hamlet and 
Basis of the King are now arrayed against each other and 
Action action begins. 

The crime was both regicide and fratricide; the King 
of Denmark had been murdered ; the brother, the husband 
The and father had been murdered. Claudius states his 

Crime motive, 



HAMLET 185 

"The effects for which I did the murder, 

My crown, mine own ambition and my Queen." 

He was impelled by both ambition and lust. 

Hamlet was to revenge the deed. Which? Regicide 

or fratricide? Was his grief because the King had been 

murdered and his uncle, by his marriage, had de- 

„ ^ frauded him of the throne, or was it because his 
Revenge 

father had been murdered and his mother had been 

false to her marriage vows ? The answer to this question is 

not difficult to find, and it gives the keynote to Hamlet's 

character. 

The hereditary right to the throne lay in Gertrude ; the 

King's claim was by right of marriage; consequently, 

King's Claudius' claims, as Gertrude's husband, were as 

claim to just as those of her former husband ; had she re- 

the crown mained a widow, Hamlet would undoubtedly 

have succeeded his father, since the crown was to a certain 

extent elective and Hamlet was a great favorite. It is not 

till the very end of the play, when he is trying to justify 

changing the commission, thus sending Rosencrantz and 

Guildenstern to their death, that he says, 

"He hath killed my King and stained my mother. 
Popped in between the election and my hopes." 

It is readily seen that all through the first movement, that 
it is Hamlet's moral nature which is stirred to its very 
depths, ambition for power nowhere appears. 

The Ghost reveals to Hamlet the manner of his father's 
death and charges him to revenge the deed, at the same 
Hamlet's ^^"^^ imposing two restrictions; no matter what 
Posi- method he may take to accomplish the work, he 
tion must first, "taint not thy mind," and second, *'nor 

let thy soul contrive against thy mother aught." He must 
do nothing which he cannot justify before the people, and 



186 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

we think we are safe in saying, nothing- which will involve 
his conscience ; nor must he in any way implicate his 
mother; she must be left to her conscience, which will 
sufficiently "prick and sting her." If we observe carefully, 
we see that Hamlet was pretty thoroughly hedged in. 

Justice of the Demand 

There was no court of justice before which Claudius 
could be arraigned ; as King, he himself, would form the 
highest court ; if the murder was avenged or revenged, it 
must be done by the nearest of kin. We must then take 
the position that the deed required of Hamlet was the right 
thing to do ; not only the Ghost, but justice required him 
to kill Claudius; two obstacles lie in his way, one objective 
Obstacles ^^^ the other subjective; first the restrictions im- 
to posed : how can he kill Claudius, having no ex- 

Overcome ternal evidence to prove that he murdered the King, 
and justify himself in the eyes of Denmark? second; how 
can he, mentally and physically constituted as he is, deliber- 
ately plan and in cool blood take the life of another, even 
though justice demands it? The impulsive Hamlet can 
thrust his dagger through the arras ; the reflective Hamlet 
cannot shed blood. Careful study of the play shows that 
Hamlet never discusses the first proposition ; we may see 
that the Poet never gives him the opportunity to meet the 
requirements of the Ghost. Indeed we almost feel that the 
impossible has been laid upon him ; but since Hamlet him- 
self does not seem to worry about this side of the question, 
we will consider his course of action through the play from 
his own standpoint, the subjective; in doing so "Put your- 
self in his place ;" try, for the time being, to be Hamlet 
yourself. 

The Conflict 

The objective conflict, or the action of the play, is neces- 
sarily slow, since it depends upon Hamlet to take the initial 



HAMLET 187 

Object- step, and the reflective man always acts deliberately, 
ive the more reflective, the greater the deliberation : 

what a contrast to Macbeth here, who says, 

"From this moment 
The very firstlings of my heart shall be 
The firstlings of my hand. And even now 
To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done," 

and messengers are dispatched immediately, ''Before this 
purpose cool" to the castle of Macduff to do the horrible 
deed. 

The King has his subjective conflict, but his mind is 
quite transparent ; we can easily read him ; the interest of 
Subject- the play centers in Hamlet with his subjective con- 
ive flict. 

These questions are still queries. Was Hamlet insane? 
If not, why did he feign insanity, what was to be gained by 
it? Why did he not kill the King? Was he a man of ac- 
tion? Was his conflict with his will, or was it with his 
conscience, his moral or religious nature? In studying the 
play, decide these questions if you can ; if you answer 
them, then the riddle of the sphinx is solved. 

Structure 

The structure of Hamlet is not difilicult to trace; only 
a few points need be added to the hints already given. 

Hamlet kills Polonius, he commits the very deed he is 
trying to avenge — he kills a father ; he thus makes himself 
a guilty individual; after the deed, note the great change 
in Hamlet in the second movement. 

In the Hamlet thread, Hamlet stands almost alone so 
far as actual assistance is concerned, still there are those 
l^j^g who are naturally grouped in his thread of the 
Hamlet play. The King has more active workers; the 
Thread threads should be grouped according to the impor- 



188 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

tance of the function of these helpers in the working out of 
their thread. To illustrate : First movement, King's thread : 

Group (a) Claudius and Gertrude, 
Th"^^ H Group (b) The Polonius family. Other groups 

follow. 
This grouping refers to the deed, a group simply for the 
purpose of state is readily seen — the courtiers who have 
little or nothing to do with Hamlet. 

In the second movement it will be seen that Laertes 
takes the place of Polonius. 

Since Hamlet's subjective conflict is as strong, if 
ont stronger, than his external conflict, we may 
consider that his thread in the first movement has an 
Subject- internal phase ; again, we find two strands in the 
ive external set of influences, one driving him on to the 

Conflicts deed, the other, the lack of external evidence, with- 
holding him. These conflict with the internal influences, 
his moral and spiritual nature, and the subjective conflict, 
at times, is so strong as to well-nigh drive him to suicide. 

The King has not only his external conflict with Hamlet, 
but his internal conflict with himself; it is interesting to 
note that the King plans and sets influences to work. 
Hamlet allows influences to work upon him, but at the same 
time he manages to thwart them before they culminate in 
results. His own action is prompted by chance circum- 
stances thrown in his way, rather than by any deliberate 
planning. The threads in the subjective conflicts may be 
traced as clearly as those in the external conflicts. The 
student should by all means, work out the movements and 
threads fully, showing the dramatic purpose, or the part 
which each character serves in the play. 



HAMLET 



189 



Questions for Class Study and Suggestive Topics for 
Discussion and for Outline Books 

Review 

1. Define Nemesis. 

2. The modern English Drama combines the principles 
of the Mystery and Morality plays and the Interlude ; trace 
these three elements through the Hamlet drama. 

3. State changes which have taken place in the manner 
of presentation of a drama since Shakespeare's time. 

4. According to Saintsbury, what are the three dis- 
tinguishing points in Shakespeare? 

5. What are his three distinct purposes ? 

6. Review carefully the Principles and Structure of the 
Shakespearean Drama. 

The Play 



Classify the play, giving reasons. 

How is the Ethical World disturbed? 

How is its harmony restored? 

State the basis of the plot. 

Give the basis of Hamlet's action and of the King's 



1. 
3. 
3. 

4. 

5. 
action. 

6. Group the principal characters according to their 
relation to the State, the Family, the Deed committed, the 
Ethical World, in the following outline form : 



Characters 


State 


Family 


Deed 


Ethical World 


Ghost 


Form- 
er 
King 


Husband to 

Gertrude 

Father to 

Hamlet 


Victim 


Plans restoration 

of 

Harmony 


Claudius 


King- 


Husband to 
Gertrude 
Uncle and Step- 
father to Hamlet 


Guilty Doer 


Disturber 

of 
Harmony 













190 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

8. Work out the structure of the play fully. 

9. Show how Shakespeare's three distinguishing traits : 

1. ''Restraint in the use of sympathy with suffering ;" 

2. ''Restraint in the use of interest in voluptuous 

excess/' and 

3. "Humor," are illustrated in this play. 

10. Show how his three distinct purposes, 

1. "To tell a dramatically complete story;" 

2. "To work that story out by the means of purely 

human and probable characters ;" 

3. "To give such form and ornaments to the work- 

ing out of the play as might please the play- 
goers of his day ;" are illustrated in this play. 

11. Act I in this play is very remarkable in its fullness; 
the groundwork of the play is so fully laid, so much infor- 
mation is given, the keynote of the characters is so thor- 
oughly sounded; work the Act out carefully with reference 
to these points. 

12. Work out the plot by movements. Acts and Scenes 
by means of graphic illustration. 

Characterization 

(a) The Ghost 

First Movement. Guilt 

The first act has well been called the Ghost's Act; 
while the groundwork of the play is very fully laid in this 
act, this groundwork depends upon the revelation of the 
Ghost and the interest centers in him. 

1. The Poet has taken great pains to make the Ghost 
objective ; it appears twice to the guards but has no message 
for them ; to Horatio, the scholar and friend of Hamlet, it 
will not speak. Why is this? Is there any especial pur- 
pose in it? 



HAMLET 191 

2. What is the office of the Ghost in the play? 

3. When the Ghost reveals the deed, which does he 
emphasize, his murder as a King or the moral question of 
virtue ? 

4. Why does Horatio link the appearance of the Ghost 
with affairs of State, while Hamlet at once suspects "some 
foul play," evidently with reference to his father? 

5. What character does the Ghost give himself? 

6. Why does he command Hamlet to revenge his mur- 
der, instead of requiring him to bring Claudius to justice? 
Were Revenge and Justice synonymous terms in those days ? 

7. After the Ghost disappears in Scene 1, notice the 
change in the mental attitude of the Ghost seers ; how they 
lapse into a poetic frame of mind, and Marcellus recalls the 
beautiful Christmas legend, which seems to clarify the at- 
mosphere, both mental and physical, and introduces the re- 
ligious thought, which, to a great extent, colors the whole 
play. How can you account for this change? 

8. Make a list of the points of belief concerning Ghosts. 

9. When Hamlet is making Horatio and Marcelkts 
swear secrecy, why does the Poet make the Ghost follow 
them in "the cellerage," requiring them to "swear?" 

10. Why does the subjective Ghost appear to Hamlet 
in the "closet scene?" Why is it not objective then as well 
as in the opening of the play? 

11. Why does not the Queen hear it speak? 

12. Would you have the Ghost in this scene objective 
to the audience ? 

13. What would be the effect if it were objective to the 
Queen ? 

Second Movement 

Why does the Ghost not appear in this movement? 



192 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

Revelations of the Ghost 

1. Time when Ghosts are released and allowed to 
"walk." 

2. His own identity. 

3. Belief in purgatory and final redemption. 

4. While spirits may return, they may not tell tales. 

5. His own unnatural death. 

6. Beliefs in Denmark concerning his death. 

7. Guilt of Claudius and the Queen. 

8. His own love for Gertrude. 

9. Unchangeable nature of virtue and vice. 

10. Manner of his death. 

11. Effect of henbane upon the blood. 

12. Circulation of the blood. 

13. Died without the offices of the church. 
Verify these points. 

(b) Horatio and the Ghost 

1. Why was Horatio called to watch for the Ghost? 

2. What does Horatio's expression 

What, has this thing appeared again to-night?" 
indicate ? Some editions give this speech to Marcellus ; 
Whom do you think would most naturally say it? 

3. How does the Poet pave the way for Horatio to 
tell Hamlet of the appearance of the Ghost? 

4. Was it dramatically necessary that Bernardo 
should go with Horatio and Marcellus when they went to 
inform Hamlet of the Ghost's appearance? 

5. Why does he not witness the last visitation of the 
Ghost? 

6. Why will not the Ghost talk to Hamlet in the pres- 
ence of Horatio and Marcellus? 

7. Why is Horatio afraid to let Hamlet go away alone 
with the Ghost? 



HAMLET 193 

8. What was Horatio's mental attitude toward Ghosts 
at first? 

9. How did this attitude change after the appearance 
of the Ghost? 

(c) Hamlet in Relation to Other Characters 
(I.) Hamlet and the Ghost 

1. In what frame of mind is Hamlet when Horatio and 
the others enter to inform him of the appearance of the 
Ghost? Can you see any dramatic purpose in the Poet's 
having them enter just at this time? 

2. In what expression does Hamlet first show that he 
has the ghost within him, ready to meet the objective 
Ghost? How does he show this all through the conversa- 
tion in Act I, Scene 2 ? 

3. Does he show any fear ? 

4. Why does he at once enjoin secrecy? 

5. Interpret the last four lines of this scene. 

6. Act I, Scene 4. Note the perfectly natural conversa- 
tion with which the scene opens. 

7. What is Hamlet's attitude toward the Ghost when 
he first sees it? Does he recognize it? Interpret his first 
expression. Does he express fear or reverence or irrever- 
ence? 

8. Interpret his expression **I do not set my life at a 
pin's fee." 

9. Show how in the latter part of the scene the Ghost 
takes complete possession of him. 

10. Scene 5. Why does Hamlet say, 'I'll go no fur- 
ther?" 

11. In calling upon Hamlet to revenge, to what ele- 
ment in Hamlet's nature does the Ghost first appeal? 

12. In what state of mind does the Ghost leave Hamlet? 

13. Give Hamlet's vow and study it carefully. 



194 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

14. The The strict keeping of this vow will change his 
life in what particulars? 

15. In what frame of mind does he meet Horatio and 
Marcellus ? 

16. Does he show any indication that his reason is 
affected by his interview with the Ghost? 

17. Why will he not tell Horatio and Marcellus what 
the Ghost revealed? 

18. Why is he so anxious for secrecy? 

19. How do you interpret his expression 

"How strange or odd soe'er I bear myselfr— 
As I perchance hereafter shall think meet 
To put an antic disposition on," etc. ? 

20. His final conclusion is that 

"The time is out of joint: O cursed spite, 
That ever I was born to set it right!" 

Interpret this speech. Does it shed any light on his future 
action ? 

21. Is it any indication of his character? 

(II.) Hamlet and the King 
First Movement. Guilt 

1. Note tliat we are first introduced to Hamlet in the 
Family relation. In what frame of mind is he? 

2. He begins by talking in riddles. Interpret his first 
two remarks if you can. 

3. What is the King's attitude toward Hamlet? The 
Queen's ? Are they sincere ? 

4. What is Hamlet's philosophy of grief? What the 
King's ? 

5 Does the Queen in any way sound the keynote to the 
King's speech? 

6. Is the King sincere? Does he really wish Hamlet 
to remain at home? 



HAMLET 195 

7. What would have been the result had Hamlet re- 
turned to Wittenberg? 

8. Does the King at first think Hamlet insane? 

9. What means does he take to find out positively? 

10. How does Hamlet appear and talk to the King? 
Does he talk like a really insane man? 

11. Does Hamlet read the King's mind? 

12. How does Hamlet plan to entrap the King? 

13. Who shows the greater system and deliberation in 
planning, Hamlet or the King? Which succeeds? 

14. W^hy does the King "fright with false fire?" 

15. Do you see any evidence that after the play, the 
King is convinced with regard to Hamlet's insanity? 

16. Why does not Hamlet kill the King when he finds 
him alone on his knees? 

17. Is Hamlet really sincere when he decides not 

"To take him in the purging of his soul, 
When he is fit and seasoned for his passage." 

or is he trying to excuse himself?" 

Second Movement — Retribution 

1. Give the King's reasoning about sending Hamlet 
to England. 

2. Interpret Hamlet's talk to the King about the body 
of Polonius? 

3. What excuse does he make to Hamlet for sending 
him to England? 

4. When in the Queen's closet, how did Hamlet know 
that he was to be sent to England? 

5. "I see a cherub that sees them." Interpret. 

6. At the close of this conversation, why, when Rosen- 
crantz and Guildenstern have passed out, does the King 
disclose his plans for the death of Hamlet? 



196 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

7. What effect does the news of Hamlet's return have 
upon Laertes in his relation to the King? 

8. Is there any evidence that the King had forestalled 
Hamlet's possible return by another plan to get rid of him? 

9. Do you find any evidence that Hamlet saw the King 
to ''recount the occasion of my sudden and more strange re- 
turn?" or that he ever had any real conversation with him 
after his return? 

10. How many times did they come into actual personal 
contact? On what occasions? 

11. In case the scheme with Laertes failed, what did 
the King plan next ? 

12. Would the King's plans have succeeded without 
Laertes poisoned foil? 

13. Was Hamlet really killed through the King's 
agency or Laertes' agency? 

14. All through the play we see that the King depended 
on his plans and Hamlet depended on his wits, — which 
"o'er mastered" the other, the "plans" or the "wits?" 

(III.) Hamlet and His Mother. 

1. How was Hamlet affected by the discovery that his 
mother was false to his father and to her true womanhood? 
Do you wonder that in his very heart he should feel, "Frailty 
thy name is woman?" 

2. How many times in this play does Hamlet meet his 
mother and under what conditions? 

3. Who plans the closet scene and for what purpose? 

4. In what mood is Hamlet when he goes to his moth- 
er's closet? 

5. Does he obey the injunction of the Ghost to 

"Leave her to heaven. 
And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge 
To prick and sting her?" 



HAMLET 197 

6. Is he afraid of him? When he says, 

"And — would it were not so, — you are my mother;" 
what are his inmost thoughts and feehngs ? 

7. When Hamlet thrusts through the arras, does he 
really think he is going to kill the King? Would he not 
recognize Polonius' voice when he called ''Help?" 

8. When Hamlet sets up to his mother "a glass 

Where you may see the inmost part of you." 

how does he succeed ? What ability does he show ? Do you 
think he would be able to convince a jury now-a-days? 

9. When she confesses that he has turned her eyes 
into her very soul, and begs him to "speak no more," why 
does he not stop? 

10. Why does the Ghost appear to Hamlet at this 
point ? 

11. What effect does Hamlet's vision have upon the 
Queen ? 

12. What does the Queen mean when she says 

"This bodiless creation ecstacy 
Is very cunning in" ? 

13. Do you notice any change in Hamlet's attitude 
toward his mother after the visitation of the Ghost? 

14. How does he feel toward her at the close of this 
part of the conversation? 

15. Do you consider his last charge to his mother an 
evidence of sanity or insanity? 

16. Do you think the Queen thought him insane? 

17. Does she keep her pledge to Hamlet? 

18. When she realizes that she is dying, to whom does 
she give her last thought? 

19. Did Hamlet truly love his mother? 

20. Did she truly love him? 

21. Did he forgive her? 



198 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

22. He so sweetly and tenderly says, 

"And when you are desirous to be blest 
I'll blessing beg of you." 

Did she give him the opportunity? 

(IV.) Hamlet and Ophelia 
First Movement 

1. Study carefully Hamlet's vow after the Ghost leaves 
him ; do you find in it any key to his treatment of Ohpelia ? 

2. Was Hamlet's personal appearance when he visited 
Ophelia in her closet any evidence of insanity? 

3. Was he trying to make her think him insane? 

4. For symptoms of love, refer to conversation between 
Rosalind and Orlando in As You Like It, last part of Scene 
2, Act III. 

5. Account for Hamlet's letters to Ophelia. Do they 
sound like Hamlet, the intellectual scholar from Witten- 
berg? 

6. In the interview between Hamlet and Ophelia 
planned by Polonius, in what mood is Hamlet when Ophelia 
enters ? 

7. How do you interpret Hamlet in this interview? 

(a) Does he really love Ophelia? 

(b) How do you account for his severe talk? 

(c) Is he gentlemanly? 

(d) Can you read between the lines and trace any 
evidence of tenderness ? 

(e) Some think he is heartbroken because he knows 
that he must give her up, and at her treatment of 
him, and that he is forcing himself to go to these 
extremes in order to keep up and not break 
down completely. What do you think of this 
view? 



HAMLET 199 

8. Why does he suddenly interrupt his Hne of talk with 
the inquiry, "Where's your father?" 

9. Interpret his speech beginning 

"I have heard of your paintings too." 
What has made him mad? 

10. "All but one shall live" refers to whom? 

11. Does he wish to make Ophelia believe him insane? 

12. Does she believe him insane? 

13. Has Polonius succeeded in convincing the King 
that Hamlet is mad because of "neglected love?" 

1^. Is it natural for Hamlet to seek Ophelia's company 
at the play ? 

15. Does he show any evidence of insanity here? Does 
Ophelia really love Hamlet? Give her estimate of him. 

Second Movement 

In the second movement, Ophelia has lost both father 
and lover; the father slain by the lover's hand, and Hamlet 
sent from the country ; left thus alone, she is unable to bear 
the strain of her environments, her mind completely gives 
way; the Poet leaves us in no doubt about her mental con- 
dition. 

1. Is there any dramatic purpose in having her brought 
to the Queen by Horatio? 

2. What is the burden of her song? Why did not the 
Poet make her sing of her lover? 

3. How are the King and Queen affected by her con- 
dition ? 

4. Can you see any dramatic purpose in having her 
brought to them in this condition at this time? 

5. What is the dramatic purpose in bringing in Laertes 
in armed rebellion at this point and of having him confront 
Opehelia ? 



200 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

6. Can you see any dramatic purpose in having the 
news of her death brought to Laertes, just as the King has 
finished disclosing his plot to take Hamlet's life? 

7. Was Ophelia's death accidental or did she commit 
suicide? 

8. ^ Do you find anything in her songs or her talk which 
indicate that her insanity took the form of suicidal intent ? 

9. In the Priest's remarks at the grave did he show the 
spirit o| ,true Christianity, or of religious formalism? 

10. jHow do you account for Hamlet's leap into the 
grave khd struggle with Laertes? Do you regard it as evi- 
dence of great love for Ophelia? 

11. Which of the four inner Hamlets is manifested 

here ? 

(V.) r Hamlet and Polonius 

Polonius sounds the keynote to his own character in his 
interview with Reynaldo when he says 

"Your bait of falsehood 
Takes this carp of truth, and thus do we . . . 
With windlaces and with assays of bias 
By indirection find direction out." 

He is the scheming, witty politician, utterly devoid of con- 
science or of true moral principles. Cunning is his only 
basis of action. 

"And I do think, or else this brain of mine 
Hunts not the trail of policy so sure 
As it hath used to do — that I have found 
The very cause of Hamlet's lunacy." 

This is the man who is prying out Hamlet's secret; one 
who has nothing whatever in common with Hamlet's nature. 

1. Why does Polonius warn OpheHa against Hamlet? 

2. Do you find any evidence that Polonius is justifiable 
in slurring Hamlet's character as he does? 



HAMLET 201 

3. Does Polonius think Hamlet's personal appearance 
when he visits Ophelia in her closet, an evidence of insan- 
ity or of intense love? 

4. Do you think Polonius justifiable in finally conclud- 
ing that Hamlet is insane, and because Ophelia has repulsed 
him ? MjH 

5. What do you think of his plans for detecting mam- 
let? 

6. Why does Hamlet call him a fishmonger? ^ 

7. Does Hamlet read Polonius? Why does^e say, 
"Have you a daughter ?" before Polonius mentions Ophelia ? 

8. He talks in riddles until Polonius leaves him, when 
he says "These tedious old fools" ; what does he mean by 
this? 

9. Compare Hamlet and Poloniu§^in this conversation. 

10. Has Polonius accomplished anything in this inter- 
view? 

11. When giving Ophelia directions about meeting 
Hamlet, he says 

"We're oft to blame in this 
. . . . that with devotion's visage 
And pious action we do sugar o'er 
The devil himself." 

What does he mean ? Is there any dramatic purpose in put- 
ting these words into his mouth at this time? 

12. What underhanded cunning does he now show? 

13. Which has outwitted the other, Hamlet or Pol- 
onius ? 

14. Do you find any evidence that Polonius is doubtful 
about Hamlet's insanity? 

15. Does Polonius succeed in convincing the King? 

16. Do you think the King really thinks Hamlet insane 
at all? 

17. What is Polonius' plan next? 



202 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

18. Interpret the conversation between Hamlet and 
Polonius after the play, when Polonius comes in to tell 
Hamlet that the Queen would speak to him. 

19. "They fool me to the top of my bent." Interpret. 

20. Why does the Poet have Hamlet left alone at this 
point? Note carefully Hamlet's short soliloquy. Note his 
frame of mind when he sees the king on his knees, and when 
he goes to meet his mother. 

21. In the closet scene which Polonius thinks he has so 
cunningly planned, do you think that Hamlet really ex- 
pected to kill anyone when he "makes a pass through the 
arras" or was it simply a random thrust made in the heat of 
the moment? 

22. Do you see any object in having Polonius killed at 
the very beginning of this interview? Why not carry him 
through the play? 

23. Does Hamlet show any regret for what he has 

done? Note that he has just refused to kill the King when 

he found him alone. 

"Take thy fortune 
Thou finds't to be too busy is some danger" 

Interpret. Do you agree with Hamlet? 

24. Did Polonius deserve his fate? 

25. Can you justify Hamlet? 

(VI.) Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern 

First Movement 

1. How does Hamlet receive Rosencrantz and Guilden- 
stern at first? What seems to be his spirit? 

2. Compare the way in which he handles them with his 
handling of Polonius. 

3. What does he mean when he says "by my fay I can- 
not reason." "I am most dreadfully attended." Has he as- 
sumed an unnatural role until he is at last in a maze of 
doubt about himself? 



HAMLET 203 

4. Why does he make Rosencrantz and Guildernstern 
confess that they were sent for by the King ? Are they keen 
enough for him? 

5. Why does not Hamlet make them tell why they were 
sent for instead of telling why himself? 

(Note how naturally the coming of the players is in- 
troduced.) 

6. When Polonius enters, Hamlet foresees his errand ; 
Why does he say "When Roscius was an actor at Rome?" 

7. Why does he refer to Jephthah ? 

8. Thus far have Rosencrantz and Guildenstern ac- 
complished anything? 

9. In the conversation after the play, does Hamlet 
show any desire to make Rosencrantz and Guildernstern 
think him insane? 

10. Compare his talk with them with his talk with 
Polonius ; what is his real state of mind ? 

Second Movement 

1. Hamlet is now sent to England in charge of Rosen- 
crantz and Guildernstern. Why at the time of starting does 
he send them ''a little before?" 

2. What did he mean when he told the Queen, "Let it 
work; for 'tis sport," etc.? (last of closet scene.) 

3. Does Hamlet -suspect the contents of the commis- 
sion? 

4. How can the Hamlet who could not kill the King 
when he found him alone, deliberately send his two 
friends ( ?) to their death ? 

5. Does he have any conscience conflict over this? 

6. Did Rosencrantz and Guildernstern know the con- 
tents of the commission? 

7. Does Horatio condemn Hamlet for the deed? 



204 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

8. Why did not the Poet allow him to live to hear of 
their death? 

9. Do you think Hamlet was justifiable in thus chang- 
ing the commission? 

(VII.) Hamlet and Horatio 

1. What is the real dramatic purpose of Horatio in the 
play? 

2. What really active part does he take? 

3. Is he a man of action in the play? 

4. Note his appearance in the play. 

First Movement 

First, at the opening of the play, a connecting link 
between the objective Ghost, and the subjective 
Ghost in Hamlet. 

Second, in the middle of the play, to witness the 
play to "catch the conscience of the King." 

Second Movement 

First, merely introduces Ophelia in Act IV in her 

wrecked mental condition. 
Second, accompanies Hamlet through Act V to the 

final grand tragedy. 

5. He appears only once except in connection with 
Hamlet. How does he aid Hamlet? 

- 6. Has Hamlet confided to him the secret of his father's 
murder ? 

7. Does he aid Hamlet in laying any plans for re- 
venge ? Does he make any suggestions ? 

8. Do we learn anything of Hamlet's experience that 
is of dramatic value, that without Horatio, we would have 
no good way of finding out? 

9. Why is he so sure that Hamlet will lose the wager 
with Laertes ? 



HAMLET 205 

10. How do you account for the visit of Hamlet and 
Horatio to the church-yard? 

11. Would Horatio have taken his own life in the end 
had it not been for Hamlet? 

12. Why was it dramatically necessary that he should 
survive the grand catastrophe? 

13. In recounting "how these things came about" state 
to what each point refers : what were "the carnal, bloody 
and unnatural acts?" etc. 

14. Show that Horatio is a perfectly mediated char- 
acter, — that his life is a life of triumph, — not as some would 
have it, that he is good simply because he is too weak to be 
anything else. 

15. Can you see that his office at the last is to aid in 
restoring harmony to the state of Denmark, which accord- 
ing to the ethics of the Drama, only a mediated character 
could do? 

IG. Give Hamlet's estimate of Horatio. 

(D.) Hamlet 

In answering the following points, quote references 
giving author, act and scene. 

( 1. His appearance before his father's 
Outward Hamlet-^ death; 

( 2. After his mother's marriage. 

I 1. The Instinctive or Impulsive. 

-r TT 1 \ ^' The Imaginative. 

Inner Hamlet . g ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ Religious. 

4. The Intellectual or Reflective. 

1. Trace each of these Hamlets individually through 
the play. 

2. In the subjective conflicts, which of these Hamlets 
finally gets the mastery, and determines the final issue of 
his life ? 



206 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

3. Was Hamlet a well balanced character? 

4. Was his life a failure? Why or why not? 

5. Between Hamlet's "Adieu" to the Ghost and the "play" 
there is supposed to be an interval of about two months ; 
what was he doing all this time, when he was so anxious to 
''sweep to my revenge?" 

6. Can you show the gap between a sense of duty and 
its fulfillment? willing and doing? disc-ernment and re- 
solve? resolve and action? 

7. Had Hamlet been actuated by ambition for his lost 
crown, would he have hesitated to kill the King? 

8. Does ambition for worldly honors contain the seeds 
of death? 

9. Hamlet is the great "soliloquizer" of all of Shakes- 
peare's characters. Why is this? 

10. Trace Hamlet through his soliloquies, giving the 
circumstances, theme, and arguments of each. 

11. How many times and under what circumstances 
does he chide himself for inaction? What" reasons does he 
give? Is he just to himself? 

12. For how many deaths is Hamlet responsible? Do 
you think he was in any way responsible for Ophelia's sad 
end? If so, in what way? 

13. From an ethical standpoint, did Hamlet come to his 
tragic end because he did not kill the King or because he 
did kill Polonius? 

14. Make a list of Hamlet's characteristics. Give ref- 
erences. 

Hamlet's Insanity 

1. To whom did he feign insanity? 

2. To whom was he always rational? 

3. Did he always appear the same to the same persons? 

4. Who believed him insane? 

5. Who believed him sane? 



HAMLET 207 

6. What did he think about it himself? 

7. What did Shakespeare think his condition of mind 
to be? 

8. What is your own opinion? 

9. What would be the effect upon the drama to leave 
out the insane element entirely, and have Hamlet work 
against the King in a perfectly rational way, as the King 
plans against Hamlet? Do you think it would in any way 
detract from the interest? If so, how? 

1 1. That he was insane. 

10. J 2. That he feigned insanity. 

Try to prove 1 3. That he was rational and did not feign 
I insanity. 

11. One never knows what turn the insane mind may 
take at any moment. Do you think an artist could base an 
artistically constructed drama upon the vagaries of, an in- 
sane man? 

(E) The King 

1. \Yhat statesmanlike ability does Claudius show? 

2. What incidents in the play bring out his ability? 

3. Had it not been for his corrupt moral character 
what kind of a King do you think Claudius would have 
made? Compare Hamlet with him in this particular. 

4:. When we are first introduced to the King, why does 
he preface business by such extended remarks about his 
family affairs? Do you see any special significance in it? 
Show how this entire speech gives the keynote to his char- 
acter. 

5. Did Gertrude know of the character of her hus- 
band's death? 

6. Did Claudius advise with Gertrude in the making 
of his plans? (Compare with Macbeth.) 

7. What purpose does Gertrude serve in the play? 
How is she related to the State? How is she linked with 



208 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

the acts of Claudius? To what extent is she his partner in 
crime ? 

8. In planning, how did Claudius always try to make 
sure of success in the end? 

9. Did he have great confidence in Polonius? 

10. What do you think of his plan to bring Rosencrantz 
and Guildernstern to court? 

11. Since Hamlet was so little disposed to act, why 
should the King fear him so much? 

12. Analyize carefully the King's discussion of his 
crime, of prayer, of repentance. What is his theory of each ? 

13. What difiference does he see between courts of jus- 
tice in "this world" and ''above." * 

14. What is the result of his conscience conflict? 

15. Do you see any evidence that after all he, like the 
drowning man, clings to a straw of hope? 

16. When Laertes returns in arms, what diplomacy 
does Claudius show in handling him? 

17. When he receives news that Hamlet has returned, 
show that he used the same policy in planning his death 
that he used in the murder of King Hamlet. 

18. In separate columns make a list of Claudius' good 
and bad qualities. 

19. Trace the King's crime. 

,20. Note how Claudius' original deed contained in it 
the element of death; it not only brings him to death, but 
Elements all connected with him ; first the scheming, plotting 
of Polonius, slain by Hamlet, thus Hamlet becomes a 

Death criminal, and Laertes has a father's murder to re- 
venge ; second, Ophelia, who allowed herself to be used as a 
tool against Hamlet, after a pathetic life, comes to a pa- 
thetic end ; the final grand tragedy sweeps out the 
P , remaining guilty ones. First the Queen, who was 
Tragedy the cause of the original deed, comes to her death 
by drinking of the bowl poisoned by her own guilty 



HAMLET 209 

husband ; second, the King, stabbed by Hamlet himself with 
the foil poisoned to make Hamlet's own death sure, and 
then forced by Hamlet to drink of his own poisoned bowl ; 
if the foil fails, the poison must take effect; thus even in his 
death his own method of double planning comes back upon 
his own head. Next Laertes, stabbed by Hamlet with Laer- 
tes 'own foil envenomed by himself to ensure Hamlet's 
death ; and lastly Hamlet struck down by Laertes, whose 
father he had slain. We are led to exclaim, "O wonderful 
conception of the Poet!" The two guilty families are entirely 
swept out, and only the two mediated characters, Horatio 
and Fortinbras, remain to restore harmony to the State; 
Horatio to explain and set matters right before the people, 
and Fortinbras to assume the government. 

21. Thus we see how Claudius' deed sweeps all con- 
nected with him to death, but this does not relieve the in 
dividual of the responsibility of his own individual deed; 
show in each case how the deed returns upon the doer, that 
is, how Nemesis follows the guilty individual. 

(G.) Miscellaneous 

1. What is the dramatic purpose of Act I, Scene 3 ? 

2. Of Act H, Scene 1? 

3. Give the family characteristics of the Polonius 
family. 

4. Give the individual characteristics of each. 

5. Can you condemn Ophelia for perfect obedience to 
her father? Compare her with Jessica. 

6. As a character in the play what purpose does she 
serve ? 

7. Is there any dramatic purpose in making revenge 
instead of justice the basis of Hamlet's action? What ob- 
stacles were in his way? 

8. Compare Hamlet and Laertes as men of action. 




210 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

9. Why does the Poet send Hamlet to school to Wit- 
tenberg and send Laertes to Paris ? Can you imagine Laer- 
tes in Wittenberg? 

10. What conld Hamlet gain by feigning insanity? 

11. Do 3^ou base your estimate of Hamlet's character 
upon what he says of himself or upon what others say of 
him? 

12. The King has committed a deed which he knows 
ought to be undone through repentance; he discusses the 
duty of repentance. Hamlet has left undone a deed which 
he knows he ought to do, he discusses the duty of revenge. 
Compare the arguments of the two, point by point. 

13. State the theories of the immortahty of the soul 
given in the play — make a list of quotations on this subject. 

IL What is the dramatic purpose of the Norway epi- 
sode ? Do you think the drama would be weakened by leav- 
ing it out? Why or why not? 

15. Where is the play relieved by traces of humor? 

16. Can you imagine that Hamlet might have been at 
all humorous before his life was saddened? 

17. Account for the grave diggers' scene; has it any 
dramatic purpose? 

18. Can you see any place where the play might have 
been relieved by music? Compare with the Merchant of 
Venice. What use does Hamlet make of the recorders? 

19. This drama is full of very familiar quotations. 
Make a list of them by act and scene. 

20. Memorize the Christm.as legend given by Marcel- 
lus ; the soliloquy beginning ''To be or not to be." Ham- 
let's discourse on the grandeur of man, and as many others 
that you would like to remember, as you can. 

21. Compare the Hamlet drama with other plays 
which you have read in completeness of dramatic structure ; 



HAMLET 211 

in the use of the supernatural as an element of the play ; 
in theories of life, death and immortality; in points of in- 
formation on various topics. 

22. The Hamlet drama has been called "The Sphinx of 
Literature" and Hamlet himself has been called a "Sphinx." 
Why? 

23. What is the theme? 

24. What is the moral? 

25. What was the germ thought which prompted the 
Poet to write the play ? 

2G. Gervinus says, "Intuitions conceived in passion 
vanish with the emotion. Human will changes and is in- 
fluenced and enfeebled by delays. But we might ask, "In 
Hamlet's case, why the delay?:" 

27. Schlegel says "Hamlet is a tragedy of thought." 
Is the real tragedy the objective conflict which we see end- 
ing in the final grand catastrophe which sweeps out the 
conflicting elements in one fell swoop, or is it the tragedy 
of Hamlet's life? Is the life of this young man of such 
noble impulses and grand qualities, wrecked because he was 
required to perform a deed which was so revolting to his 
moral nature, that he could not make his reason and his 
will drive him to it? 

28. Does Shakespeare ever make the moral element 
secondary to any other? Are we all Hamlets? Whichever 
way we turn we meet with difficulty. 

29. At what period of Shakespeare's life was this 
drama written? Had he solved the problem himself, we 
wonder ? 

30. What have you gained from the study of Shakes- 
peare ? 

31. Have you gained power to enable you to better in- 
terpret the thoughts of great writers? 



212 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

Scheme for Outline Book 

This outline book scheme is presented here because it 
shows the work which has been done by classes in the third 
year of the high school. When this scheme was given one 
section of the class was studying Hamlet with one teacher, 
and another section was studying Macbeth with another 
teacher, the same scheme was given to both sections. 

Hamlet — Macbeth 

1. The Drama. 

(1) Legendary. 

(a) Tragedy. 

(1) Real. 

(2) Ideal. 

(b) Comedy. 

(1) Real. 

(2) Ideal. 

(2) Historical. 
Classify the play. 

2. Classification of {Hamlet or Macbeth) according to 
the outline of the drama given above and show how it be- 
longs under each division. 

3. Give the basis of the plot. 

4. Show the basis of the action. 

5. Group the principal characters of the play accord- 
ing to their relationship to the following in outline form : 

(1) The State. 

(2) The Family. 

(3) The Deed committed. 

(4) The Ethical World. 

6. Make a diagram of the entrance and exit of the 
characters. 

7. Give the references in the play, by act and scene, 
and the lines containing it, to the supernatural, and state 
the use made of it in the play. 



HAMLET 213 

8. Quotations : Give two on each of the following and 
five others of your own choice : 

(1) Patriotism. 

(2) Friendship. 

(3) Love. 

(4) Beautiful sentiments. 

(5) Religious sentiments. . 

Home Readings 

Group I Group II. 

1. King Lear. 1. Romeo and Juliet. 

2. Tempest. 2. Much Ado About 

3. Cymbeline. Nothing. 

4. Richard III. - 3 A Winter's Tale. 

4. Henry IV, Part 1. 

Do the following with each play of the group read : 

(1) Who causes the catastrophe? 

(2) What was the misdeed of the individual? 

(3) State the result of bringing the individual face 
to face with his misdeed. 

(4) Quotations: One from each act of each of the 
plays read. 

Topics for Essays and Discussion 

1. Hamlet's Insanity. 

2. Hamlet and the Ghost. 

3. The Moral Hamlet. 

4. The Impulsive Hamlet. 

5. The Reflective Hamlet. 

6. Hamlet and his Mother. 

7. Hamlet and Ophelia. 

8. Hamlet and Polonius. 

9. Hamlet as a Man of Action. 
10. Hamlet as a man of Inaction. 



214 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

11. Hamlet and Laertes (compared). 

12. Hamlet's Transformation. 

13. Ophelia. 

14. The Queen. 
' 15. The King. 

16. Polonius. 

17. The Ghost and Ghost-seer. 

18. The Closet Scene. 

19. The Norway Episode. 

20. Love, Friendship and Duty. 

21. The Religious thought in the Play. 

22. Hamlet and Macbeth — The Men. 

23. Claudius and Macbeth. 

21. Gertrude and Lady Macbeth. 

25. Hamlet's Revenge and the King's Repentance. 

26. Theory of Life from Polonius' Standpoint. 

27. Theory of Life from the French Standpoint Com- 
pared with the German. 

28. The Play of Hmnlet as a Drama. 

(In fullness and completeness compare with other plays 
read.) 

Hamlet and Macbeth. Comparative Study 

(A.) The Plays 

1. Shakespeare's only plays geographically located in 
northern Europe ; that is, north of England. 

2. Both deal with royalty. 

3. Both contain a strong flavor of the historical. 

4. Both named from the character in whom the chief 
interest centers. 

5. Hamlet, Shakespeare's longest play. Macbeth, the 
shortest of his serious plays. (2109 lines Globe Ed.) 

Hamlet noted for the great number of lines which he 
speaks, Macbeth for the few lines which he speaks. 



HAMLET 215 

6. Shakespeare's only Ideal Tragedies. 

7. The only plays in which the supernatural as a mo- 
tive is objective. 

8. In both, a deed has been done before the play opens 
which becomes an incentive to action. 

9. Both -plays open with the supernatural element. 

10. In both this element appears again at the climax of 
the play. 

Study to carry this line of comparison still further. 

Compare in the follozving points: 

1. The character of the deed before the opening of the 
plays. 

2. This deed in each, as an incentive to action. 

3. Character of the action. 

4. Character of the supernatural element. 

5. The office of this element in the plays. 

6. Its relation to the Ethical World. 

7. The moral element in the plays. 

8. The religious element. 

9. The institution of the State. 

10. The institution of the Family. 

11. Definiteness of characterization. 

12. Nature, reference to the elements ; to animals ; to 
plants. 

13. Music in the plays. 

14. Humor in the plays. 

15. As an acting play. 

16. Which will hold the interest of an audience better? 

17. As a reading play, which is the more interesting 
study ? 

18. Which has more strong types of character? 

19. Which is more universal, that is, in which do we 
find more characteristics of all mankind? 



216 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

20. Which is more generally quoted from? 

21. Which would you rather know thoroughly ? Why ? 

(B.) Hamlet and Macbeth — The Men 
Compare in the following points: 

1. Attitude toward the supernatural ; comparative in- 
fluence over each. 

2. Ambition for power. 

3. Courage, — physical and moral. 

4. Intellectual culture. 

5. Men of impulse and of reflection. 

6. Men of action. 

7. Moral and spiritual sense. 

8. Their soliloquies as an index to character. 

9. Do the characteristics of the two men in any way 
account for the length of the two plays? 

10. Show that Hamlet belonged to the advancing 
Christian age, and that Macbeth belonged to the past heroic 
age. (For the latter see Mac. Act HI, Scene 4). 

11. Show how inaction may have been an element in 
Hamlet's tragic end, and hasty action in Macbeth's. 

12. Were they to exchange places, what would be the 
result ? 

(C.) The King and Macbeth 

Compare in the following points: 

1. Nature of their foul deed. 

2. Motive for the deed. 

3. Manner of the deed. 

4. Influences brought to bear upon the doer. 

5. Effect of the deed upon the doer. 

6. Effect upon the State. 

7. Effect upon the Family. 

8. As men of action and of deliberation. 

9. Statesmanlike qualities. 



HAMLET 217 

10. In subtile adroitness. 

11. Moral nature. 

12. In their family relations. 

13. As Kings. 

14. Make them exchange places and what would be the 
result ? 

15. Which has more characteristics that you can re- 
spect or admire? What are they? 

16. If it were possible to eliminate the bad qualities and 
keep the good, which would result in the better man? 

(D.) The Queen and Lady Macbeth 
Compare 

1. In their relations to the deed. 

2. In character — moral and spiritual ; in strength of 
character. 

3. In the family relations, as wives, as mothers. 

4. As Queens. 

5. As to womanhood. 

6. The manner of death. Can you give any ethical 
cause for the difference? 

7. Would Claudius have committed murder to secure 
Lady Macbeth for his wife? 

8. Which would have the most dangerous influence in 
society ? 

9. Make a list of the characteristics in each, which you 
could admire. 

10. Make them change places and what would result? 

Miscellaneous 

1. Compare Banquo and Horatio. 
'2. Compare Banquo and Polonius. 

3. Compare Lady Macbeth and Ophelia. 

4. Had Ophelia been Macbeth's wife do you think he 
would have killed Duncan? 



A SMALL SHAKESPEAREAN LIBRARY 



1. Complete Works 

A single play edition if possible. Rolfe and Hudson are al- 
ways standard; the notes and introductory matter are both satis- 
factory and reliable. The Arden Shakespearear, D. C. Heath, is 
good. The Aletrnus edition is inexpensive; good paper and print; 
contains a good introduction, and the original story or the old 
play upon which the plot is supposed to be founded, but no ex- 
planatory notes. Charlotte Porter and Helen Clarke are now edit- 
ing the "First Folio" edition ; this is a reprint of the original first 
folio of 1623, and for the first time made accessible to ordinary 
readers ; besides the text, it contains full notes, glossary and a 
great deal of very valuable matter; at present writing (Nov., 1904) 
five plays are out. A Midsummer Night's Dream, Love's Labour's 
Lost, The Comedy of Errors, The Merchant of Venice, and Mac- 
beth. The price is fifty cents each, published by Thomas Y. Crowell, 

New York. 

2. Life of Shakespeare 

Life of William Shakespeare: Sidney Lee (1898) Macmillan, 
$1.75. This is a book of 445 pages, 57 of which is an ap- 
pendix which contains very valuable matter throwing light upon 
contested points. Mr. Lee has taken great pains to thoroughly 
investigate all sources of information, and may be considered en- 
tirely reliable. An abridgement of this work is published for 80 
cents. Those who would read Shakespeare's autobiography into the 
Sonnets, should carefully and with unprejudiced mind read the 
results of Mr. Lee's investigation on this topic. 

Outlines of the Life of Shakespeare. J. O. Halliwell-Phillipps. 
Revised edition ; Longman's ; 1,000 pages ; contains re-prints of orig- 
inal documents, is thoroughly reliable, considered a "court of final 
resort," very valuable for reference. $6.00, 2 vol. edition. 

William Shakespeare. A critical study. George Brandes ; Mac- 
millan, 2 vols. $8.00, abridged edition $2.60. This book might more 
appropriately be styled "The Evolution of the Life and Writings 
of Shakespeare." It gives the life and writings of the great dram- 

219 



220 STUDIES IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA 

atist in their historical settings, showing him in the process of de- 
velopment. It is not only a book to be read, but a readable book. 

Shakespeare : Poet, Dramatist and Man. Hamilton Wright Ma- 
bie (1901), Macmillan. Third edition, 100 illustrations, $2.0a. This 
book is most delightful reading. 

Nearly all of the Commentaries on Shakespeare contain a brief 
sketch of his life ; Gervinus, Dowden, Hudson, etc. 

3. Dramatic Structure and Interpretative Criticism 

Commentaries on the Tragedies, Comedies and Histories, one 
volume each. Denton J. Snider, Sigma Publishing Co., St. Louis ; 
sold by A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago, $1.50 each, not net. Dr. 
Snider throws new light upon the structural lines of the Shakes- 
pearean drama; the interpretations are from an ethical standpoint 
and abundantly repay thoughtful study. 

Shakespeare as a Dramatic Artist. Richard G. Moulton, Mac- 
millan, $1.50. Treats of dramatic structure, illustrated by studies of 
several plays. 

The Moral System of Shakespeare. R. G. Moulton (1903) 
Macmillan, $1.50. Interprets the Poet from an ethical standpoint; 
shows the unity of Shakespeare's dramas and the moral system 
running through his entire works. The appendix contains a plot 
scheme for every play. This book should be read by every inter- 
ested student of Shakespeare. 

Commentaries on Shakespeare. George Gottfreid Gervinus, 
Scribner, $5.25. This is an ethical interpretation of the great Poet 
by an eminent German critic, who is acknowledged authority in this 
line of thought. Once knowing this volume we turn to it again and 
again. 

Shakespeare's Dramatic Art. Hermann Ulrici, Macmillan, 2 
vols.' $1.00 each. Ulrici is a most devoted and systematic Shakes- 
pearean student and scholar. 

Shakespeare, Life and Works. William C. Hazlitt (1817) 
Scribners, $2.50. 

Notes and Lectures on Shakespeare and other dramatists, be- 
ing Vol. IV of the complete works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge; 
Harpers, $2.00; also lectures on Shakespeare, Coleridge; Macmillan, 
$1.00. Mr. Lee considers Coleridge and Hazlitt "the best represen- 
tatives of the aesthetic school in this or any other country," al- 
though he says "Professor Dowden in his 'Mind and Art' (1874) 
and Mr. Swinburne in his 'Study of Shakespeare' (1880), ^as 
worthy followers of Coleridge and Hazlitt, remain unsurpassed." 



A SMALL SHAKESPEAREAN LIBRARY 221 

Shakespeare, Nils Mind and Art. A critical study, Edward 
Dowden, Harpers, $1.75 ; also by the same author, Shakespeare 
Primer, Am. Book Co., 35 cents. Mr. Dowden is a generally ac- 
cepted interpreter of Shakespeare and is very helpful. 

Shakespeare, Life, Art and Character. Rev. Henry N. Hudson, 
Ginn & Co., 2 vols., $4.00 the set. Very appreciative and espec- 
ially interesting and valuable from the artistic standpoint. 

The Bible in Shakespeare (1903), William Burgess, Winona 
Publishing Co., Chicago, $1.50. The title explains the book. It is 
a most wonderful study. Mr. Burgess has laid all students of the 
"Myriad-minded" under lasting obligation. 

Characteristics of Women. Mrs. Jameson, Houghton Miflin & 
Co., $1.25. Too well known to need especial mention. 

Five Lectures by Bernhard ten Brink. Henry Holt, $1.25. Very 
interesting, not designed for reference. 

4. For Referance Only 

A work invaluable for reference is a new and complete con- 
cordance by John Bartlett, 1900 pages, Macmillan, $7.50. One re- 
viewer says of this work : "Mr. Bartlett's great volume supplies 
absolute completeness and furnishes a Concordance to Shakespeare's 
Works that is invaluable, and that may never be improved upon 
Its accuracy is indisputable." 

5. Development of the English Drama 

History of English Dramatic Literature. A. W. Ward, Mac- 
millan, 3 vols., $9.00. 

Shakespeare's Predecessors in the English Drama (1884) ; 
John Addington Symonds ; Scribners, $2.00. 

English Religious Drama.. Katherine Lee Bates; Macmillan, 
$1.50. 

Technique of the Drama.' Gustav Freytag, Scott, $1.50. 

For short sketches, Hudson's Life, Art and Characters ; His- 
tory of Elizabethan Literature, Saintsbury; Macmillan, $1.00. 

Development of English Literature. Welsh, S. C. Griggs, 
Dowden, Brooke, etc. 

This list comprises only a very few selections from the great 
number whose name is legion. Perhaps no one can be absolutely 
reliable upon every point, but we think these can be safely recom- 
mended as a neucleus for a private or school library. 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 



AUTHORITY FOR PRONUNCIATION 



The Century Dictionary of names is the principal authority for 
pronunciation in this Index. 
W. indicates Webster. 
S. indicates The Standard. 



DIACRITICAL MARKINGS 



a (short) as in at, fat. 

a (long) as in mate, fate. 

a as in far^ father. 

a (aw) as in awe, fall, talk. 

a as in ask, class. 

a as in fare, hair. 

e (short) as in pet, less. 

e (long) as in mete, fleet. 

e as in her^ fern. 

i (short) as in it, pin. 

i (long) as in line, find. 

o (short) as in on, not. 

o (long) as in note, door. 

6 (oo) as in move, room. 

6 as in nor, off. 

u (short) as in but, tub. 

u (long) as in flute, use. 

u as in pull, book. 

ii German u, French u. 

h French, nasal. 

Primary accent is indicated by ' ; secondary by ". 

In an unaccented syllable, the variable sound of a vowel 
which often becomes short u, as e in prudent, is indicated by the 
italic, as in Webster ; the Century indicates this sound by two dots 
under the vowel. 

225 



226 INDEX TO CHARACTERS 

The lightening of a vowel in an unaccented syllable, as, a in 
courage, is indicated in the Century by one dot under the vowel; 
it is not indicated in this inde^c- This sound occurs in the fol- 
lowing words : 

One dot under a — 

Chamberlain, Lord (cham'berlan) 
Flaminius (fla-min'i-us) 
Hecate (hek'a-te) 
Laertes (la-er'tez) 
Michael (mi'ka-el) 
Mowbray (mo'bra) 

One dot under e — 

Artemidorus (ar"te-mi-do'rus) 
Benedick (ben'e-dik) 
Cleomenes (kle-om'e-nez) 
Emilia (e-mil'i-a) 
Nerissa (ne-ris'sa) 
Orleans (6r-le-anz) 
Pisanio (pe-sa'ne-6) both e's 
Proteus (pro'te-us) 
Thesus (the'se-us) 
Verges (ver'ges) 

One dot under a — 

Andronicus (an-dro-ni'kus) 
Antigonous (an-tig'o-nus) 
Antiochus (an-ti'o-kus) 
Antipholus (an-tifo-lus) 
Antony (an'to-ni) 
Cleopatra (kle-6-pa'tra) 
Coriolanus (k5"ri-o-la'nus) 
Deiphobus (de-ifo-bus) 
Gregory (greg'6-ri)_ 
Hermione (her-mi'-o-ne) 
Holofernes (hol-o-fer'nez) 
Imogen (im'o-jen) 
Leonine (ie'o-nln) _ 
Morocco (mo-rok'-o) 1st o 
Polonius (p6-l6'ni-us) 
Viola (vi'o-la) 
Volumnia (v6-lum'ni-a) 
Westmoreland (west'mor-land) 
Willoughby (wil'o-bi) 

One dot under u — 

Capulet (kap'u-let) 
Euphronius (u-fro'ni-us) 1st u 
Trinculo (trin'cu-lo) 
Ursula (er'su-la) 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 



227 



Aaron, (ar'on) a Moor beloved by Tamora 
Abergavenny, (ab-er-ga'ni or ab"er-ga-ven'i) 

Lord 
Abhorson, (ab-hor'son) an executioner. 

Abram, (a'bram) or Abraham, (a'bra-ham) 
servant to Montague. 

Achilles, (a-kil'ez) Grecian commander 

Adam, (ad'am) old man, servant to Oliver. 

Adrian, (a'dri-an) Lord. 

Adriana, (a-dri-a'na) wife to Antipholus of 
Ephesus. 

^geon, (e-je'on) merchant of Syracuse. 

^millia, (emil'i-o) wife of ^gon. 

^milius, (e-mil'i-us) a noble Roman. 

^neas (e-ne-as) Trojan commander. 

Agamemnon, (ag-a-mem'non) Grecian gen- 
eral. 

Agrippa, (a-grip'a) friend to Csesar. 

Agrippa, Menenius, friend to Coriolanus. 

Ague- Cheek, (a'gii-chek) Sir Andrew. 

Ajax, (a-jaks) Grecian commander. 

Alarbus, (a-lar'bus) son to Tamora. 

Albany, (arba-ni) Duke of 

Alcibiades, (al-si-bi'a-dez) Athenian gen- 
eral. 

AlenQon, (a-loh-s6n) Duke of 

Alexander, (al-eg-zan'der) servant to Cres- 
sida. 

Alexas, (a-lek'sas) attendant on Cleopatra. 

Alice, al'is) attendant on Katherine. 

Alonzo, (a-lon'z6) King of Naples. 

Amiens, (a-me-an) attendant on the Duke. 

Andromache, (an-drom'a-ke) wife to Hec- 
tor. 

Andronicus (an-dro-ni'kus) Marcus, a trib- 
une. 

Andronicus, Titus, a noble Roman. 

Angelo, (an'je-l6) a goldsmith. 



Titus Andronicus 
Henry VHI. 

Measure for 

Measure. 

Romeo and Juliet. 
Troilus and Cressida. 
As You Like It. 
The Tempest. 

Comedy of Errors. 
Comedy of Errors. 
Comedy of Errors. 
Titus Andronicus. 
Troilus and Cressida. 

Troilus and Cressida. 
Antony and 

Cleopatra. 
Coriolanus. 
Twelfth Night. 
Troilus and Cressida. 
Titus Andronicus. 
King Lear. 

Timon of Athens. 
Henry VI. 

Troilus and Cressida. 
Antony and 

Cleopatra. 
Henry V. 
The Tempest. 
As You Like It. 

Troilus and Cressida. 
Titus Andron'icus, 

or (ni'kus). 
Titus Andronicus. 
Comedy of Errors. 



228 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 



Angelo, deputy in the Duke's absence. 

Angus, (ang'gus) a nobleman of Scotland. 
Anne, (an) widow of Edward of Wales, 

married to Richard III. 
Anterior, Trojan commander. 
Antigonous, (an-tig'o-nus) Sicilian lord. 
Antiochus, (an-ti'o-kus) King of Antioch. 
Antipholus, (an-tif'o-kus) of Ephesus 
Antipholus, (an-tif'o-lus) ) 

of Ephesus. Vtwin brothers. 

Antipholus, of Syracuse. ) 
Antonio, (an-to'ni-o) brother to Prospero. 
Antonio, friend to Sebastian. 
Antonio, brother to Leonato. 

Antonio, a merchant of Venice. 
Antonio, father to Proteus. 

Antony, (an'to-ni) Marcus, friend to Coesar. 
Antony, Marcus, triumvir (same as above). 

Apemantus, (ap-e-man'tus) churlish phil- 
osopher. 

Archbishop of Canterbury. 

Archduke of Austria. 

Archibald, (ar'chi-bald) Earl of Douglas. 

Archidamus, (ar-ki-da'mus) Bohemian lord. 

Ariel, (a'ri-el) an airy spirit. 

Armado, (ar-ma'do) Don Adriano de, 

Arragon, (ar'a-gon) Prince of 

Artemidorus, (ar"te-mi-d6'rus) a sophist. 

Arthur, (ar'thwr) Duke of Bretagne. 

Arviragus, (ar-vir'a-gus) son to Cymbeline, 
supposed son to Belarius. 

Audrey, (a'dri) a country wench. 

Aufidius, (a-fid'i-us) Tullius, general of the 
Volscians. 

Aumerle, Duke of, son to Duke of York. 

Autolycus, (a-tol'i-kus) a thieving peddler. 

Auvergne, (o-varny') Countess of, 



Measure for 



Macbeth. 



Measure. 



Richard III. 
Troilus and Cressida. 
Winter's Tale. 
Pericles. 



Comedy of Errors. 

The Tempest. 
Twelfth Night. 
Much Ado About 

Nothing 
Merchant of Venice. 
Two Gentlemen of 

Verona. 
Julius Caesar. 
Antony and 

Cleopatra. 

Timon of Athens. 
Henry V. 
King John. 
1 Henry IV. 
Winter's Tale. 
The Tempest. 
Love's Labour's Lost. 
Merchant of Venice. 
Julius Caesar. 
King John. 

Cymbelinie. 

As You Like It. 

Cofiolanus. 
Richard II. 
Winter's Tale. 
1 Henry VI. 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 



229 



Bagot, (bag'ot) servant to King Richard. 
Balthazar, (bal-tha'zar) a merchant. 
Balthazar, servant to Romeo. 
Balthazar, servant to Portia. 
Balthazar, servant to Don Pedro. 

Banquo, (bang'kwo) general in King's army. 
Baptista, (bap-tis'ta) gentleman of Padua. 

r (bar'dolf) follower of Falstaff. 

_ , - , ! follower of Falstaff. 
Bardolph, i 

[^ now soldier in the army. 
Bardolph, Lord. 
Barnadine, (bar'na-din) a prisoner. 

Bassanio, (ba-sa'ni-o) friend to Antonio. 

Basset, (bas'et) Red Rose. 

Bassianus, (bas-i-a'nus) in love with La- 
vinia. 

Bates, (bats) a soldier in King's army. 

Beatrice, (be'a-tris or tres) niece to Leon- 
ato. 

Beaufort, (hu'iort) Thomas, Duke of Ex- 
eter. 

Beaufort, Henry, Bishop of Winchester. 

Beaufort, John, Earl of Somerset. 

Bedford, (bed'ford) Duke of, 

brother to King Henry V. 
uncle to King Henry VI. 

Belarius, (be-la'ri-us) banished lord. 

Belch, (belch) Sir Toby, uncle to Olivia. 

Benedick, (ben'e-dik) a young lord of 
Padua. 

Benvolia, (ben-vo'li-6) a friend to Romeo. 

Berkley, (berk'li or bark'li) lord. 

Bernardo, (ber-nar-do) officer. 

Bertram, (ber'tram) Count of Rousillon. 

Bianca, (bi-an'ko) mistress to Cassio. 
Bianca, sister to Katharina. 



Richard II. 

Comedy of Errors. 

Romeo and Juliet. 

Merchant of Venice. 

Much Ado About 

Nothing. 
Macbeth. 

Taming of the 

Shrew. 
1, 2 Henry IV. 
Merry Wives of 

Windsor. 
Henry V. 
2 Henry IV. 

Measure for 

Measure. 
Merchant of Venice. 
1 Henry VI. 

Titus Andronicus. 

Henry V. 

Much Ado About 

Nothing. 
I. Henry VI. 

1, 2. Henry VI. 
1. Henry VI. 

Henry V. 
1 Henry VI. 
Cymbeline. 
Twelfth Night. 
Much Ado About 

Nothing. 
Romeo and Juliet. 
Richard II. 
Hamlet. 
All's Well That 

Ends Well. 
Othello. 
Taming of the 

Shrew. 



230 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 



Bigot, (big'ot) Robert, Earl of Norfolk. 
Biondello, (be-on-del'lo) servant to Lu- 

centio. 
Biron, (be-ron') attendant on King. 
Bishop of Lincoln. 

Blanche, (blanch) niece to King John. 
Blount, (blunt) Sir James. 
Blunt, (blunt) Sir Walter, friend to King. 
Bolingbroke, (bol'ing-bruk) a conjuror. 
BoHngbroke, Henry, son to John of Gaunt. 
Bona, (bo'na) sister to French Queen. 
Borachio, (b5-ra'ch6) follower of Don John. 

Bottom, (bot'um) the weaver. 

Boult, (bolt) a servant. 

Bourbon, (bor'bon) Duke of, 

Bourchier, (bor'chi-er) Cardinal. 

Boyet, (bwa-ya') attendant on Princess of 

France. 
Brabantio, (bra-ban'shio) a senator. 
Brakenbury, Sir Robert, lieutenant of 

Tower. 
Brandon, (bran'don) sergeant at arms. 
Brutus, (bro'tus) Junius, tribune. 
Brutus, Marcus, a conspirator. 
Brutus, Decius, a conspirator. 
Buckingham, (buk'ing-am) Duke of, 
Buckingham, Duke of, 
Bullcalf, (bul'kaf) a recuit. 
Bullen, (buren) Anne, maid of honor, 

afterwards Queen. 
Burgundy, (ber'gun-di) Duke of. 
Burgundy, Duke of. 
Burgundy, Duke of. 
Bushy, (bush'i) Sir John, follower of the 

king. 
Butts, (buts) Doctor. 

Cade, (kad) Jack, a rebel. 
Caesar, (se'zar) Julius 



King John. 
Taming of the 

Shrew. 
Love's Labour's Lost. 
Henry VIH. 
King John. 
Richard IH. 

1. Henry IV. 

2. Henry VI. 
Richard II. 

3 Henry VI. 

Much Ado About 

Nothing. 

Midsummer-Night's 

Dream. 
Pericles. 

Henry V. 

Richard III. 

Love's Labour's Lost 
Othello. 

Richard IIL 
Henry VIII. 
Coriolanus. 
Julius Caesar, 
Julius Caesar. 
2. Henry VI, 
Henry VIII. 
2. Henry IV. 

Henry VIII. 
Lear. 
Henry V. 

1 Henry VI. 

Richard II. 
Henry VIII. 

2 Henry VI. 
Julius Caesar. 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 



231 



Caesar, Octavius, afterward triumvir. 
Caesar, Octavius, triumvir. 

Caithness, (kafh'ness) nobleman of Scot- 
land. 
Caius, (ka'yus) Dr., French physician. 

Calchas, (kal'kas) Trojan priest taking 
part with Greeks. 

Caliban, (kal'i-ban) a savage deformed 
slave. 

Calpurnia, (kal-per'ni-a) wife to Caesar. 

Cambridge, (kam'brij) Earl of, 

Camillo, (ka-mil'o) Sicilian lord. 

Campeius, Cardinal. 

Canidias, (ka-nid'-us) lieut. general to An- 
tony. 

Canterbury, (kan'ter-ber-i) Archbishop of, 

Caphis, (ka'fis) servant to Timon's credi- 
tors. 

Capucius, (ka-pii'shius) ambassador from 
Charles V. 

Capulet, (kap'u-let) Lord. 

Capulet, Lady, his wife. 

Carlisle, (kar-lil') Bishop of, 

Casca, (kas'ka) a conspirator, 

Cassandra, (ka-san'dro) daughter to Priam. 

Cassio, (kash'io) lieutenant to Othello. 

Cassius, (kash'ius) leading conspirator. 

Catesby, (kats'bi) Sir William. 

Cato, (ka'to) young friend to Brutus. 

Celia, (se'li-a) daughter to Frederick. 

Ceres, (se'rez) a spirit. 

Cerimon, (ser'i-mon) a lord of Ephesus. 

Charles VI, (charlz) King of France. 

Charles, Dauphin of France. 

Charles, the wrestler. 

Charmian, (char'mi-an) attendant on Cleo- 
patra. 

Chatham, (chat'am) clerk of, 

Chatillon, (sha-te-yon) Ambassador from 
France. 



Julius Caesar. 
Antony and 

Cleopatra. 
Macbeth. 

Merry Wives of 

Windsor, 

Troilus and Cressida. 

The Tempest. 
Julius Caesar. 
Henry V. 
Winter's Tale. 
Henry VIII. 
Antony and 

Cleopatra. 
Henry V. 

Timon of Athens. 

Henry VIII. 
Romeo and Juliet, 
Romeo and Juliet. 
Richard II. 
Julius Caesar. 
Troilus and Cressida. 
Othello. 
Julius Caesar. 
Richard III. 
Julius Caesar. 
As You Like It. 
The Tempest. 
Pericles. 
Henry V. 

1 Henry VI. 
As You Like It. 
Antony and 

Cleopatra. 

2 Henry VI. 

King John. 



232 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 



Chiron, (ki'ron) son to Tamora. 
Cicero, (sisV-ro) a senator. 
Cimber, (sim'ber) (S) Metullus, conspira- 
tor. 
Cinna, (sin'a) a conspirator. 
Cinna, a poet. 
Claudio, (kla'di-6) a young gentleman. 

Claudio, a young lord of Florence. 

Claudius, (kla'di-us) servant to Brutus. 
Claudius, King of Denmark, uncle to 

Hamlet. 
Cleomenes, (kle-om'e-nez) a Sicilian lord. 
Cleon, (kle'on) governor of Tharsus. 
Cleopatra, (kle-o-pa'tra) Queen of Egypt. 

Clifford, (kliford) Lord. 

Clifford, his son. 

Clitus, (kli'tus) servant to Brutus. 

Cloten, (klo'ten) son to Queen; step-son 

to Cymbeline. 
Cobweb, (kob'web) a fairy. 

Coleville, Sir John. 

Cominius, general against Volscians. 

Conrade, (kon'rad) follower of Don John. 

Constable, (kun'sta-bl) of France. 

Constance, (kon'stans) mother to Prince 

Arthur- 
Cordelia, (kor-del'ia) daughter to Lear. 

Corin, ko'rin) a shepherd. 

Coriolanus, (ko"ri-6-la'nus) a noble Roman. 

Cornelius, (kor-ne'lius) a physician. 

Cornelius, a courtier. Ambassador to Nor- 
way. 

Cornwall, (korn'wal) Duke of, 

Costard, (kos'tard) a clown. 

Court, (kort) a soldier in King's army. 

Cranmer, (kran'mer) Archbishop of Can- 
terbury. 



Titus Andronicus. 
Julius Caesar. 

Julius Caesar. 
Julius Caesar. 
Julius Caesar. 
Measure for 

Measure. 
Much Ado About 

Nothing. 
Julius Caesar. 

Hamlet. 
Winter's Tale. 
Pericles. 
Antony and 

Cleopatra. 
2, 3 Henry VL 
2 Henry VL 
Julius Caesar. 

Cymbeline. 

Midsummer-Night's 

Dream. 
2 Henry IV. 

Coriolanus. 

Much Ado About 

Nothing. 
Henry V. 

King John. 

King Lear. 

As You Like It. 

Coriolanus. 

Cymbeline. 

Hamlet. 

King Lear. 

Love's Labour's Lost. 

Henry V. 

Henry VIII. 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 



233 



Cressida, (kres'i-da) daughter to Calchas. 
Cromwell, (krum'wel or krom'wel) servant 

to Wolsey. 
Curat!, (kur'an) a courtier. 
Curio, (ku'ri-o) attendant to the Duke. 
Curtis, (ker'tis) servant to Petruchio. 

Cymbeline, (sim'be-lin) King of Britain. 



Troilus and Cressida. 

Henry VHI. 
King Lear. 
Twelfth Night. 
Taming of the 



Cymbeline. 



Shrew. 



Dardanius, (dar-da'ni-us) servant to Bru- 
tus. 
Davy, (da'vi) servant to Shallow. 
Deiphobus, (de-if'o-bus) son to Priam. 
Demetrius, (de-me'tri-us) son to Tamora. 
Demetrius, friend to Antony. 

Demetrius, in love with Hermia. 

Dennis, (den'is) servant to Oliver. 

Denny, Sir Anthony. 

Dercetas, (der'se-tas) friend to Antony, 

Desdemona, (dez-de-mo'no) daughter to 

Brabantio. 
Diana, (di-an'a or di-a'na). 
Diana, daughter to the Widow. 

Dick, (dik) follower of Jack Cade. 
Diomedes, (di-o-me'dez) Grecian com- 
mander. 
Diomedes, attendant on Cleopatra. 

Dion, (di'on) Sicilian lord. 
Dionyza (di-o-ni'za) wife to Cleon. 
Dogberry, (dog'ber-i) foolish officer. 

Dolabella, (dol-a-bel'la) friend to Caesar. 

Donalbain, (don'al-ban) son of Duncan. 
Don Pedro, (pe'dro) Prince of Arragon. 



Julius Caesar. 
2 Henry IV. 
Troilus and Cressida 
Titus Andronicus. 
Antony and 

Cleopatra. 
Midsummer-Night's 

Dream. 
As You Like It. 
Henry VIII. 
Antony and 

Cleopatra. 

Othello. 

Pericles. 

All's Well That 

Ends Well. 
2 Henry VI. 

Troilus and Cressida. 
Antony and 

Cleopatra. 
Winter's Tale. 
Pericles. 
Much Ado About 

Nothing. 
Antony and 

Cleopatra 
Macbeth. 
Much Ado About 

Nothing. 



234 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 



Don John, (jon) his bastard brother. 

Dorcas, (dor'kos) a shepherdess. 

Dorset, (dor 'set) Marquis of, son to Lady- 
Grey. 

Dromio, (dro'mi-o) (W) 1 twin brothers, 
of Ephesus. } servants 

Dromio, of Syracuse, f to the two 

J Antipholus's. 

Duke, (duke) (W) in exile. 

Duke of Florence. 

Duke of Milan, father to Silvia. 

Duke of Venice. 

Duke of Venice. 

Dull, (dul) a constable. 

Dumain, (du-man') attendant on King. 

Duncan, (dung'kan) King of Scotland. 



Much Ado About 

Nothing. 
Winter's Tale. 

Richard III. 



Comedy of Errors. 
As You Like It. 
All's Well That 

Ends Well. 
Two Gentlemen of 

Verona. 
Merchant of Venice. 
Othello. 

Love's Labour's Lost. 
Love's Labour's Lost. 
Macbeth. 



Edgar, (ed'gar) son to Gloster. 

Edmund, (ed'mund) bastard son to Gloster. King Lear. 

Edmund, of Langley, uncle to King. 

Edmund, Earl of Rutland ; son of Richard 

Plantagenet. 
Edward, (ed'ward) Earl of March, son of 

Richard Plantagenet. 
Edward, Prince of Wales, son to Henry 

VI. 
Edward IV, King of England, (Earl of 

March). 
Edward, Prince of Wales, (Edward V). 
Egeus, (e-je'us) father to Hermia. 



King Lear. 
King Lear. 
Richard II. 

2, 3 Henry VI. 

2, 3 Henry VI. 

3 Henry VI. 



Eglamour, ( eg'la-mor) . 

Elbow, (el'bo) a simple constable. 

Eleanor, (el'a-nor) Duchess of Gloster. 
Elinor, (e-li-nor) (W) mother to King 
John. 



Richard III. 
Richard III. 
Midsummer-Night's 

Dream. 
Two Gentlemen of 

Verona. 
Measure for 

Measure. 
2 Henry VI. 

King John. 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 



235 



Elizabeth, (e-liz'a-b^th) queen of Edward 
IV, Lady Grey. 

Ely, (e'li) Bishop of, 

Emilia, (^-mil-ia) attendant on Queen. 

Emilia, wife to lago. 

Enobarbus, (en-6-bar'bus) friend to An- 
tony. 

Eros, (e'ros) friend to Antony. 

Erpingham, Sir Thomas, officer in King's 

army. 
Escalus, (es'ka-lus) Prince of Verona. 
Escalus, ancient lord. 



Richard III. 
Henry V. 
Winter's Tale. 
Othello. 

Anthony and 

Cleopatra. 

Antony and 

Cleopatra. 

Henry V. 

Romeo and Juliet. 

Measure for 

Measure. 
Escanes, (es'ka-nez) lord of Tyre. Pericles. 

Euphronius, (ii-fro'ni-us) ambassador from Antony and 

Antony to Caesar. Cleopatra. 

Evans, (ev'anz) Hugh, a Welsh priest. Merry Wives of 

Windsor. 
Exeter, (eks'e-ter) Duke of, uncle to King. Henry V. 



Exeter, Duke of, on Henry's side. 
Fabian, (fa'bi-an) servant to Olivia. 
Falstaff, (fal'staf) Sir John. 

Fang, (fang) sheriff's officer. 
Fastolfe, (fas'tolf) Sir John. 
Faulconbridge, (fa'kn-brij) Robert. 
Faulconbridge, Philip, bastard son to King 

Richard I. 
Faulconbridge, Lady, mother to Robert and 

Philip. 
Feeble, (fe'bl) a recuit. 
Fenton, (fen'ton) a courtier. 



3 Henry VI. 

Twelfth Night. 
fl, 2 Henry IV. 
-{ Merry Wives of 
L Windsor. 

2 Henry IV. 

1 Henry VI 

King John. 

King John. 



King John. 

2 Henry IV. 

Merry Wives of 

Windsor. 
Ferdinand, (fer'di-nand) King of Navarre. Love's Labour's Lost. 
Ferdinand, son of King of Naples. The Tempest. 

Fitz-Peter, Geffrey, Earl of Essex. King John. 

Fitzwater, Lord. Richard II. 



236 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 



Flaminius, (fla-min'i-us) servant to Timon. 
Flavius, (fla'vi-us) steward to Timon. 
Flavius, Tribune. 
Fleance, (fle'ans) son to Banquo. 
Florizel, (flor'i-zel) son to Polixenes. 
Fluellen, (flo-el'en) officer in King's army. 
Flute, (flot) the bellows-mender. 

Ford, (ford) Master Francis. 

Ford, Mistress, his wife. 

Fortinbras, (for'tin-bras) Prince of Nor- 
way. , 
France, (frans) King of, 

France. King of, 
France. Princess of, 
Francisca, (fran-sis'ka) a nun. 

Francisco, (fran-sis'ko) soldier on guard. 

Francisco, lord. 

Frederick, (fred'er-ik) usurper, brother to 

Duke. 
Friar John (jon). 
Friar Lawrence (la'r^ns). 
Froth, (froth) a foolish gentleman. 



Timon of Athens. 
Timon of Athens. 
Julius Cccsar. 
Macbeth. 
Winter's Tale. 
Henry V. 
Midsummer-Night's 

Dream. 
Merry Wives of 

Windsor. 
Merry Wives of 

Windsor. 

Hamlet. 

All's Well That 

Ends Well. 

King Lear. 

Love's Labour's Lost. 

Measure for 

Measure. 

Hamlet. 

The Tempest. 

As You Like It. 
Romeo and Juliet. 
Romeo and Juliet. 
Measure for 

Measure. 



Gadshill, (gadz'hil), 

Gallus, (gal'us) friend to Caesar. 

Gardiner, (gard'ner) Bishop of Winchester. 

Gargrave, Sir Thomas. 

Garter, King-at-arms. 

George, (jorj) follower of Jack Cade. 

George, afterward Duke of Clarence. 

Gertrude, (ger'trod) Queen of Denmark, 

mother of Hamlet. 
Ghost of Hamlet's father. 



1 Henry IV. 
Antony and 

Cleopatra. 
Henry VUI. 

1 Henry VI. 
Henry VIII. 

2 Henry VI. 
j 2, 3 Henry VI. 
I Richard III. 

Hamlet. 
Hamlet. 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 



237 



Glansdale, Sir Wm. 

Glendower, (glen'dor) Owen. 

Gloster, (glos'ter) Earl of, 

Gloster. Duchess of, 

Gloster, Duke of, brother to King. 

Gloster, Duke of, uncle to King and Pro- 
tector. 

Gobbo, (gob'bo) Launcelot, servant to 
Shylock. 

Gobbo, Old, father to Launcelot. 

Goneril, (gon'er-il) daughter to Lear. 

Gonzalo, (gon-za'lo) an honest old counsel- 
lor of Naples. 

Gower, (gou'er) of King's party. 

Gower, officer in King's army. 

Gower, as chorus. 

Grand-pre, (groh-pra') a French lord. 

Grantiano, (gra-shi-a'no) brother to Bra- 
bantio. 

Gratiano, friend to Antonio and Bassanio. 

Grave-diggers. 

Green, (gren) servant to King Richard. 

Gregory, (greg'o-ri) servant to Capulet. 

Gremio, (gre'mi-6) suitor to Bianca. 

Grey, (gra) Sir Thomas, against the King., 

Grey, Lady, wife of Edward IV. 

Grey, Lord, son to Lady Grey. 

Griffith, (grif'ith) usher to Queen Kather- 

ine. 
Grumio, (gro'mi-o) servant to Petruchio. 

Guiderius, (gwi-de'ri-us) son to Cymbeline, 

supposed son to Balarius. 
Guildenstern, (gil'den-stern) (W) courtier. 
Guilford, (gil'ford) Sir Henry. 
Gurney, (ger'ni) James, servant to Lady 

Faulconbridge. 



1 Henry VI. 
1 Henry IV. 
King Lear. 
Richard II. 
Henry V. 

1 Henry VI. 

Merchant of Venice. 
Merchant of Venice. 
King Lear. 

The Tempest. 

2 Henry IV. 
Henry V. 
Pericles. 
Henry V. 
Othello. 

Merchant of Venice. 
Hamlet. 
Richard II. 
Romeo and Juliet. 
Taming of the 

Shrew. 
Henry V. 

3 Henry VI. 
Richard III. 
Henry VIII. 



Taming of the 



Shrew 



Cymbeline. 
Hamlet. 
Henry VIII. 

King John. 



Hamlet, (ham'let) son to former King, 
nephew to Claudius. 



Hamlet. 



238 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 



Harcourt, (har'kort) of King's party. 
Harfleur. (ar-fler') Governor of, 

Hastings, (hast'ingz) Lord. < 

Hecate, (hek'a-te) Queen of Witches. 
Hector, (hek'tcr) son to Priam. 
Helen, (hel'en) wife to Menelaus. 
Helen, woman to Imogen. 
Helena, (hel'e-na) protege of Countess. 

Helena, an Athenian lady in love with De- 
metrius. 

Helenus, (hel'e-nus) son to Priam. 

Helicanus, (hel-i-ka'nus) lord of Tyre. 

Henry, (hen'ri) Prince, son of John of 
Gaunt, afterward King Henry III. 

Henry IV, King of England. 

Henry, Prince of Wales (Hal in Henry V). 

Henry V, King of England. 

Henry VI, King of England. 

Henry, Earl of Richmond, a youth. 

Henry (Bolinbroke) afterward King Henry 
IV. 

Henry, Earl of Richmond, (Henry VII). 

Henry VIII, King of England. 

Herbert, (her'bert) Sir Walter. 

Hermia, (her'mi-a) daughter to Egeus. 

Hermione, (her-mi'o-ne) Queen to Leontes. 
Hero, (he'ro) daughter to Leonato. 

Hippolita, (hi-pol'i-ta) Queen of the Ama- 
zons. 
Holofernes, (hol-6-fer'nez) a schoolmaster. 
Horatio, (ho-ra'shio) friend to Hamlet. 
Horner, hor'ner) Thomas, an armourer. 
Hortensio, (hor-ten'shi-o) suitor to Bianca. 

Hortensius, (hor-ten'shi-us) servant to Ti- 
mon's creditors. 



2 Henry IV. 
Henry V. 

1, 2 Henry IV. 

2, 3 Henry VI. 
Richard III. 
Macbeth 

Troilus and Cressida. 
Troilus and Cressida. 
Cymbeline. 
All's Well That 

Ends Well. 
Midsummer-Night's 

Dream. 
Troilus and Cressida. 
Pericles. 

King John 

1, 2 Henry IV. 

1, 2 Henry IV. 

Henry V. 

1, 2, 3 Henry VI. 

3 Henry VI. 

Richard II. 
Richard III. 
Henry VIII. 
Richard HI. 
Midsummer-Night's 

Dream 
Winter's Tale. 
Much Ado About 

Nothing. 
Midsummer-Night's 

Dream. 
Love's Labour's Lost. 
Hamlet. 
2 Henry VI. 
Taming of the 

Shrew. 

Timon of Athens. 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 



239 



Host of the Garter Inn. Merry Wives of 

Windsor. 
Hubert de Burgh, (hu'bert de berg) cham- 
berlain to King. King John. 
Hume, (hum) John, a priest. 2 Henry VI. 

Humphrey, (hum'fri) Prince of Gloster. ( ^ ^^^^^ ^^• 

Duke of Gloster. 1 ^^"^^ "^■ 

ll, 2 Henry VI. 



lachimo, (i-ak'i-mo) Italian, a villain; 

friend to Philario. 
lago, (i-a'go) Ancient (ensign) to Othello. 
Iden, (i'den) Alexander; slays Jack Cade. 
Imogen, (im'o-jen) daughter to Cymbeline. 
Iras, (i'ras) attendant on Cleopatra. 

Iris, (I'ris) a spirit. 

Isabel, Queen of France. 

Isabella, (iz-a-bel'a), sister to Claudio. 



Cymbeline. 

Othello. 

2 Henry VI. 

Cymbeline. 

Antony and 

Cleopatra. 
The Tempest. 
Henry V. 
Measure for 

Measure. 



Jamy, officer in King's army. 

Jaquenetta, (jak-e-net'a) a country wench. 

Jaques, (jaks or jaks) Lord, attendant on 

Duke. 
Jaques, son to Sir Rowland de Bois. 
Jessica, (jes'i-ka) daughter to Shylock. 
Joan La Pucelle, (j6-an'la pii-sel') or Joan 

of Arc. 
John, (jon) King of England. 
John of Gaunt, uncle to King. 
John of Lancanster, son to King Henry IV. 
John, follower of Jack Cade. 
Jourdain, (zhor-doh') Margaret, a witch. 
Julia, (jorya) a lady of Verona. 

Juliet, (jo-li-et') daughter to Capulet. 
Juliet, beloved by Claudio. 

Juno, (jo'no) a spirit. 



Henry V. 

Love's Labour's Lost. 

As You Like It. 
As You Like It. 
Merchant of Venice. 

1 Henry VI. 
King John. 
Richard II. 

1, 2 Henry IV. 

2 Henry VI. 
2 Henry VI. 
Two Gentlemen of 

Verona. 
Romeo and Juliet. 
Measure for 

Measure. 
The Tempest. 



240 INDEX TO CHARACTERS 

Katharine or Katherina, (kath'e-rin) the Taming of the 



Shrew. 
Love's Labour's Lost. 
Henry V. 
Henry VHL 
King Lear. 



shrew. 
Katherine, attendant on the Princess. 
Katherine, daughter to French King. 
Katherine, Queen. 
Kent, (kent) Earl of, 

Laertes, (la-er'tez) son to Polonius, brother 

to Ophelia. 
Lafeu, (la-fe') a sagacious old lord. 

Lartius, (lar'shi-us) (W) Titus, general 

against the Volscians. 
Launce, (lans) servant to Proteus. 

Lavinia, (la-vin'i-a) daughter to Titus. 

Lear, (ler) King of Britain. 

Le Beau, (le-bo) attendant on Frederick. 

Lena, Popil'ius, senator. 

Lenox, (len'oks) a nobleman of Scotland. 

Leonardo, (le"-o-nar'do) (S) servant to 

Bassanio. 
Leonato, (le-o-na'to) Governor of Mes- Much Ado About 



Hamlet. 

All's Well That 

Ends Well- 

Coriolanus. 

Two Gentlemen of 

Verona. 
Titus Andronicus. 
King Lear. 
As You Like It. 
Julius Caesar. 
Macbeth. 

Merchant of Venice. 



sma. 
Leonine, (le'o-nm) servant to Dionyza. 
Leontes, (le-on'tez) King of Sicily. 

Lepidus, (lep'i-dus) M. ^milius, triumvir. 

Lewis, (lu'is) the Dauphin of France. 

Lewis, Dauphin of France. 

Lewis XI, King of France. 

Ligarius, (li-ga'ri-us) a conspirator. 

Lincoln, Bishop of 

Lodovico, (lo-do-ve'ko) kinsman to Bra- 

bantio. 
London, (lun'don) Mayor of 
Longaville, (long'ga-vil) attendant on King 

of Navarre. 
Longsword, (long'sord) Wm., Earl of 

Salisbury. 



Nothing. 
Pericles. 
Winter's Tale. 
Julius Caesar. 
Antony and 

Cleopatra. 
Henry V. 
King John. 
3 Henry VI. 
Julius Caesar. 
Henry VIII. 
Othello. 

1 Henry VI. 

Love's Labour's Lost. 

King John. 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 



241 



Lord, (lord) a, 

Lord Chamberlain, (cham'ber-lan). 
Lord Chancellor, (chan'sel-or). 
Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench. 
Lorenzo, (l5-ren'zo) Jessica's lover. 
Lovel, (luv'el) Lord. 
Lovell, (luv'el) Sir Thomas. 
Luce, (los) servant to Luciana. 
Lucentio, 16-sen'shio) son to Vincentio. 

Lucetta, (16-set'to) waiting-maid to Julia. 

Luciana, (16-si-a'na) sister to Adriana. 
Lucilius, (lii-siri-us) friend to Brutus and 

Cassius. 
Lucilius, servant to Timon. 
Lucio, (lu'shio) a fantastic and profligate. 

Lucius, (lij'shius) servant to Brutus. 

Lucius, Caius-, general of Roman forces. 

Lucius, son to Titus Andronicus. 

Lucius, a boy, son to Lucius. 

Lucius, servant to Timon's creditors. 

Lucius, "^ 

Lucullus, (lii-kurus) v lords, flatterers of, 

Timon. j 

Lucy, (lii'si) Sir Wm. 
Lychorida, nurse to Marina. 
Lysander, (li-san'der) in love with Hermia. 

Lysimachus, (li-sim'a-kus) governor of 
Mitylene. 

Macbeth, (mak-beth') general in King 

Duncan's army. 
Macbeth, Lady, wife of Macbeth. 
Macduff, (mac-duf) nobleman of Scotland. 
Macduff, Lady, wife of Macduff. 
Macmorris, officer in King's army. 
Malcolm, (mal-kom' or ma'kom) son of 



Taming of the 

Shrew. 
Henry VHL 
Henry VHL 
2 Henry IV. 
Merchant of Venice. 
Richard III. 
Henry VHL 
Comedy of Errors. 
Taming of the 

Shrew. 
Two Gentlemen of 

Verona. 
Comedy of Errors. 

Julius Caesar. 
Timon of Athens. 
Measure for 

Measure. 
Julius Caesar. 
Cymbeline. 
Titus Andronicus. 
Titus Andronicus. 
Timon of Athens. 

Timon of Athens. 

1 Henry VI. 

Pericles. 

Midsummer-Night's 

Dream. 

Pericles. 



Macbeth. 
Macbeth. 
Macbeth. 
Macbeth. 
Henry V. 



242 INDEX TO CHARACTERS 

Duncan. Macbeth. 

Malvolio, (mal-vo'lio) steward to Olivia. Twelfth Night. 

Mamilius, (ma-mil'i-us) son to Leontes. Winter's Tale. 

Marcellus, (mar-serus) officer. Hamlet. 
Marcius, mar'shi-us) (W) son to Corio- 

laniis. Coriolanus. 

Mardian, (mar'di-an) attendant on Cleo- Antony and 

patra. Cleopatra. 

Mareshall, William, Earl of Pembroke. King John, 
Margarelon, (mar-gar'e-lon) (W) bastard 

son of Priam. Troilus and Cressida. 
Margaret, (mar'ga-ret) of Anjon, wife to 

Henry VI. 1, 2, 3 Henry VI. 

Margaret, of Anjon, widow of Henry VI. Richard HI. 

Margaret, attendant on Hero. Much Ado About 

Nothing. 

Maria, (ma-ri'a) attendant on Princess. Love's Labour's Lost. 

Maria, Olivia's maid. Twelfth Night. 

Mariana, (ma-ri-a'na) betrothed to Angelo. Measure for 

Measure. 

Mariana, friend to the Widow. All's Well That 

Ends Well. 

Marina, (ma-ri'na) daughter to Pericles 

and Thaisa. Pericles. 

Martext, (mar'tekst) Sir Oliver, a vicar. As You Like It. 
Martins, (mar'shi-us) son to Titus Andro- 

nicus. Titus x\ndronicus. 

Marullus, (ma-rurus) (W) a tribune. Julius Caesar. 

Master-Gunner of Orleans and his son, 1 Henry VI, 

Mecsenas, friend to Caesar. Antony and 

Cleopatra. 

Melun, (mel-uh') a French lord. King John. 

Menas, (me'nas) (W) a friend to Pompey. Antony and 

Cleopatra. 

Menecratus, (me-nek'ra-tus) (W) friend to Antony and 

Pompey. Cleopatra, 

Menelaus, (men-a-la'us) brother to Aga- 
memnon. Troilus and Cressida. 

Menenius, (me-ne'ni-us) friend to Corio- 
lanus. Coriolanus. 

Menteith, (men-teth') nobleman of Scot- 
land. Macbeth. 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 



243 



Mercade, attendant on Princess of France. 
Mercutio, (mer-ku'shio) friend to Romeo. 
Messala, (me-sa'la) friend to Brutus and 

Cassius. 
Michael, (mrkel or mi'ka-el) Sir. 
Michael, follower of Jack Cade. 
Miranda, (mi-ran'da) daughter to Prospero. 
Montague, (mon'ta-gii) Lord. 
Montague, Lady. 
Montague, Marquis of 

Montano, Othello's predecessor in Cyprus. 
Montgomery, (mont-gumV-ri) Sir John. 
Montjoy, a French herald. 
Mopsa, (mop'sa) a shepherdess. 
Morocco, (mo-rok'o) Prince of, 
Mortimer, (mor'ti-mer) Edmund, Earl of 

March. 
Mortimer, Lady, wife to Mortimer. 
Mortimer, Sir John. 
Mortimer, Sir Hugh. 
Morton, John, Bishop of Ely. 
Morton, domestic. 
Moth, (moth) page to Armado. 
Moth, a fairy. 

Mouldy, (mol'di) a recuit. 
Mowbray, (mo'bra) lord, enemy to King. 
Mowbray, Thomas^ Duke of Norfolk. 
Mustard-Seed, (mus'tard-sed) fairy. 

Mutius, (mii'shi-us) (W) son to Titus. 



Love's Labour's Lost. 
Romeo and Juliet. 

Julius Caesar. 

1 Henry IV. 

2 Henry VI. 
The Tempest. 
Romeo and Juliet. 
Romeo and Juliet. 
2, 3 Henry VI. 
Othello. 

3 Henry VI. 
Henry V. 
Winter's Tale. 
Merchant of Venice. 
1 Henry IV. 

1 Henry VI. 

1 Henry IV. 
3 Henry VI. 
3 Henry VI. 
Richard HI. 

2 Henry IV. 

Love's Labour's Lost. 
Midsummer-Night's 

Dream. 
2 Henry IV. 
2 Henry IV. 
Richard II. 
Midsummer-Night's 

Dream. 
Titus Andronicus. 



Nathaniel, (na-than'yel) Sir, a curate. 
Nerissa, (ne-ris'sa) maid to Portia. 
Nestor, (nes'tor) Grecian commander. 

Norfolk, (nor'fok) Duke of, 

Norfolk. Duke of, 

Northumberland, (nor-thum'ber-land) Earl 

of 
Northumberland. Earl of. 



Love's Labour's Lost- 
Merchant of Venice. 
Troilus and Cressida- 
3 Henry VI. 
Richard HI. 
Henry VIII. 

Richard II. 
3 Henry VI. 



244 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 



Northumberland, Earl ofj enemy of King. 2 Henry IV. 

Northumberland, Lady. 2 Henry IV. 

( follower of Falstaff. Merry Wives of 
Nym, (nim) J Windsor. 

I soldier in the army. Henry V, 

Nymphs. The Tempest. 



Oberon, (o'be-ron) King of the fairies. 

Octavia, (ok-ta'vi-a) sister to Caesar, wife 

to Antony. 
Oliver, (ol'i-ver) son to Sir Rowland de 

Bois. 
Olivia, (6-liv'i-a) a rich countess. 
Ophelia, (6-fe'lia) daughter to Polonius. 
Orlando, (6r-lan'd6) son to Sir Rowland 

de Bois. 
Orleans, (or'leanz) Duke of, 
Orleans. Bastard of^ 
Orsino, (or-se'no) Duke of Illyria. 
Osric, (oz'rik) a courtier. 
Oswald, (oz'wald) steward to Goneril. 
Othello, (o-thel'o) a noble Moor. 
Overdone, (o'ver-dun) Mistress. 

Oxford, (oks'ford) Earl of, 



Midsummer-Night's 

Dream. 

Antony and 

Cleopatra. 

As You Like It. 
Twelfth Night. 
Hamlet. 

As You Like It. 

Henry V. 

1 Henry VI. 

Twelfth Night. 

Hamlet. 

King Lear. 

Othello. 

Measure for 

Measure. 

3 Henry VI. 
Richard III. 



Page, (paj) Mr. George. 
Page, Mrs., wife to George. 
Page, William, their son. \ 

Page, Anne, their daughter. J 
Pandarus, (pan'da-rus) uncle to Cressida. 
Pandulph, (pan'dulf) Cardinal. 
Panthino, servant to Antonio. 

Paris, (par'is) son to Priam. 
Paris, kinsman to Escalus. 



Merry Wives of 

Windsor. 

Troilus and Cressida- 

King John. 

Two Gentlemen of 

Verona. 
Troilus and Cressida- 
Romeo and Juliet. 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 



245 



Parolles, (pa-rol'es) follower of Bertram. 

Patience, (pa'shens) woman to Queen 
Katherine. 

Patroclus, (pa-tro'clus) Grecian comman- 
der. 

Paulina, (pa-li'na) (W) wife to Antigo- 
nous. 

Peas-Blossoms, (pez'blos"om) fairy. 
Pedant, personates Vincentio. 

Pembroke, (pem'bruk) Earl of 
Percy, (per'si) Henry, son to Northumber- 
land. 
Percy, Thomas, Earl of Worcester. 
Percy, Henry, Earl of Northumberland. 
Percy, Henry, (Hotspur) his son. 
Percy, Lady, wife to Hotspur. 
Perdita, (per'di-ta) daughter to Leontes. 
Perciles, (per'i-klez) Prince of Tyre. 
Peter, (pe'ter) of Pomfret, a prophet. 
Peter, an officer, 
Peter, a servant. 
Peter, a friar. 

Peto, (pe'to) attendant on Prince Henry. 



All's Well That 

Ends Well. 

Henry VHI. 

Troilus and Cressida. 

Winter's Tale. 

Midsummer-Night's 

Dream. 

Taming of the 

Shrew. 

2, 3 Henry VI 

Richard II. 
1 Henry IV. 
1 Henry IV. 

1 Henry IV. 

1, 2 Henry IV. 
Winter's Tale. 
Pericles. 
King John. 
Romeo and Juliet. 

2 Henry VI. 
Measure for 

Measure. 
1, 2 Henry IV. 



Petruchio, (pe-tro'chi-o or ki-6) suitor to Taming of the 



Katharina. 
Phebe, (fe'be) a shepherdess. 
Philario, (fi-la'ri-6) friend to Posthumas. 
Philemon, (fi-le'mon) servant to Cerimon. 
Philip, (fil'ip) King of France. 
Philip the bastard. 
Philo, (fi'lo) friend to Antony. 

Philostrate, fil'os-trat) master of revels. 

Philotus^ (fi-l6'tus) (W) servant to Ti- 
mon's creditors. 



Shrew. 
As You Like It. 
Cymbeline. 
Pericles. 
King John. 
King John. 
Antony and 

Cleopatra. 

Midsummer-Night's 
Dream. 

Timon of Athens. 



246 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 



Phrynia, mistress to Alcibiades. 

Pierce, (pers) Sir, of Exton. 

Pinch, (pinch) a schoolmaster. 

Pindarus, (pin'da-rus) (W) servant to 

Cassius. 
Pisanio, (pe-sa'ne-6) servant to Posthu- 

mus. 

Pistol, (pis'tol) follower of Falstaff. 



Plantagent, (plan-taj'e-net) Richard, Duke 

of York. 
Plantagent, Richard, son of Duke of York. 
Poins, (poinz) attendant on Prince Henry. 
Polixenes, (po-liks'^-nez) King of Bohemia. 
Polonius, (p6-lo'ni-us) Lord Chamberlain. 
Pompeius, (pom-pe'yus) Sextus. 

Porter. 

Portia, (porshiii) wife to Brutus. 

Portia, a rich heiress, marries Bassanio. 

Posthumus, (pos'tu-mus) Leonatus. 

Priam, (pri'am) King of Troy. 

Proculeius, (proc"u-le'yus) (W) friend to 
Caesar. 

Prospero, (pros'pe-ro) rightful Duke of Mi- 
lan. 

Proteus, (pro'tus or pro'te-us). 

Provost, (pro-vo') (W) the 

Publius, (pub'li-us) a senator. 
Publius, son to Marcus the tribune. 
Puck, (puk) a playful fairy. 



Timon of Athens. 
Richard H. 
Comedy of Errors. 

Julius Caesar. 

Cymbeline. 
2 Henry IV. 
Henry V. 
Merry Wives of 

Windsor. 

1, 2 Henry VI. 

2, 3 Henry VI. 
1, 2 Henry IV. 
Winter's Tale. 
Hamlet. 

Antony and 

Cleopatra. 
Macbeth. 
Julius C^sar. 
Merchant of Venice. 
Cymbeline. 

Triolus and Cressida. 
Antony and 

Cleopatra. 

The Tempest. 
Two Gentlemen of 

Verona. 
Measure for 

Measure. 
Julius Csesar. 
Titus Andronicus. 
Midsummer-Night's 

Dream. 



Queen, to King Richard II. 
Queen, wife to Cymbeline. 
Quickly, (kwik'le) Mistress, 
inn-keeper in East-cheap. 



Richard II 
Cymbeline. 

1, 2 Henry IV. 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 



247 



hostess, Pistol's wife, 
servant to Dr. Caius. 

Quince, (kwins) the carpenter. 

Quintus, (kwin'tus) son to Titus Androni- 
cus. 



Henry V. 
Merry Wives of 

Windsor. 

Midsummer-Night's 

Dream. 

Titus Andronicus. 



1 



Rambures, a French lord. 

Ratcliffe, Sir Richard. 

Reapers. 

Regan, (re'gan) daughter to Lear. 

Reignier, (ran'ye-a) (W) Duke of Anjou. 

Reynaldo, (ra-nal'do) servant to Polonius. 

Richard, (rich'ard) Duke of York. 

Richard H, King of England. 

Richard, 

son to Richard Plantagenet. 

Duke of Gloster (Richard HI). 
Richmond, (rich'mond) Henry, Earl of 

Rivers, Lord^ brother to Lady Grey. 
Robin, (rob'in) page to Falstaff. 

Roderigo, (rod-^-re'go) Venetian gentle- 
man. 

Rogero, (ro-je'ro) Sicilian gentleman. 

Romeo, (ro'me-o) son to Montague. 

Rosalind, roz'a-lind) daughter to banished 
Duke. 

Rosaline, (roz'a-line) attendant. 

Rosencrantz, (ro'zen-krantz) (W) courtier. 

Rosse, (ros) nobleman of Scotland. 

Ross, Lord. 

Rotherham, (roth'er-am) Thomas, Arch- 
bishop of York. 

Rousillon, (ro-se-yori') countess of, mother 
to Bertram. 

Rugby, (rug'bi) servant to Dr. Caius. 



Henry V. 
Richard HI. 
The Tempest. 
King Lear. 
1 Henry VI. 
Hamlet. 
Richard HI. 
Richard II. 

2, 3 Henry VI. 
Richard HI. 
3 Henry VI. 
3 Henry VI. 
Richard HI. 
Merry Wives of 

Windsor. 

Othello. 
Winter's Tale. 
Romeo and Juliet. 

As You Like It. 

Love's Labour's Lost. 

Hamlet. 

Macbeth. 

Richard II. 

Richard HI. 
All's \/ell That 

Ends Well. 
Merry Wives of 

Windsor. 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 



Salanio, (sa-la'ni-6) friend to Antonio and 

Bassanio. 
Salarino, (sa-la-re'no) friend to Antonio 

and Bassanio. 
Salerio, (sa-le'ri-6) messenger from Venice. 
Salisbury, (salz'bu-ri) Earl of 

Salisbury, Earl of 

Sampson, (samp'son) servant to Capulet. 

Sands, (sandz) (S) Lord. 

Saturnius, (sat"ur-ni'nus) (W) son to 

Emperor of Rome. 
Say, (sa) Lord. 

Scales, Lord, Governor of Tower. 
Scarus, friend to Antony. 

Scroop, (skrop) Richard, Archbishop of 
York. 

Scroop, Sir Stephen. 

Scroop, Lord. 

Sebastian, (se-bas'tian) brother to Viola. 

Sebastian, brother to King of Naples. 

Secretaries to Wolsey. 

Selecus, (se-lu'kus) attendant on Cleopa- 
tra. 

Sempronius, (sem-pro'ni-us) Lord, flatterer 
of Timon. 

Servilius, (ser-viri-us( (W) servant to 
Timon. 

Seyton, officer attending Macbeth. 

Shadow, (shad'o) (W) a recruit. 

Shallow, (shal'o) Robert, country justice. 

Shepherd, (shep'erd) (W) reputed father 

to Perdita. 
Shepherd, father to Joan La Pucelle. 
Shylock, (shi'lok) a Jew. 
Silence, (si'kns)) a country justice. 
Silius, (sil'i-us) (W) officer in Ventidius' 

army. 



Merchant of Venice. 

Merchant of Venice. 
Merchant of Venice. 
Richard IL 
Henry V. 
1, 2 Henry VL 
Romeo and Juliet. 
Henry VHL 

Titus Andronicus. 
2 Henry VL 
2 Henry VL 
Antony and 

Cleopatra. 

1, 2 Henry IV. 
Richard II. 
Henry V. 
Twelfth Night. 
The Tempest. 
Henry VIII. 
Antony and 

Cleopatra. 

Timon of Athens. 

Timon of Athens. 
Macbeth. 

2 Henry IV. 

3 Henry IV. 
Merry Wives of 

Windsor. 

Winter's Tale. 

1 Henry VI. 
Merchant of Venice. 

2 Henry VI. 
Antony and 

Cleopatra. 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 249 

Silvia, (sil'vi-a) Duke's daughter. Two Gentlemen of 

Verona. 
Silvius, (sil'vi-us) a shepherd. As You Like It. 

Simonides, si-mon'i-dez) King of Pentapo- 

lis. Pericles. 

Simpcox, (sim'koks) an imposter. 2 Henry VI. 

Simple, (sim'pl) Peter, servant to Slender. Merry Wives of 

Windsor. 
Siward, (se'ward) Earl of Northumberland. Macbeth. 
Si ward, his son. Macbeth. 

Slender, (slen'der) cousin to Shallow. Merry Wives of 

Windsor. 
Sly, (sH) Christopher, a drunken tinker. Taming of the 

Shrew. 
Smith, (smith) the weaver, follower of Jack 

Cade. 2 Henry VI. 

Snare, (snar) sheriff's officer. 2 Henry IV. 

Snout, (snout) the tinker. Midsummer-Night's 

Dream. 
Snug, (snug) the joiner. Midsummer-Night's 

Dream. 
Solinus, (s6-li'nus) Duke of Ephesus. Comedy of Errors. 

Somerset, (sum'er-set) Duke of, of King's 

party. 2, 3 Henry VI. 

Somerville, (sum'er-vil) Sir John. 3 Henry VI. 

Southwell, (south'wel) John, priest. 2 Henry VI. 

Speed, (sped) servant. Two Gentlemen of 

Verona. 
Stafford, (staf'ord) Sir Humphrey. 2 Henry VI. 

Stafford, William, his brother. 2 Henry VI. 

Stafford, Lord, of Duke of York's army. 3 Henry VI. 
Stanley, (stan'li) Sir William. 3 Henry VI. 

Stanley, Sir John. 2 Henry VI. 

Stanley, Lord. Richard III. 

Starveling, (starv'ling) the tailor. Midsummer-Night's 

Dream. 
Stephano, (stef'a-no) servant to Portia. Merchant of Venice. 

Stephano, a drunken butler. The Tempest. 

Strato, (stra'to) servant to Brutus. Julius Csesar. 

Suffolk, (sufok) Earl of 1, 2 Henry VI. 

Suffolk, Duke of Henry VIII. 



250 INDEX TO CHARACTERS 

Surrey, (siir'i) Earl of Henry VHI. 
Surrey, Duke of Richard H. 
Surrey, Earl of. son of Duke of Norfolk. Richard HI. 
Surveyor, (sur-va'or) to Duke of Bucking- 
ham. Henry VHI. 

Talbot, (tal'bot) Lord. 1 Henry VI. 

Talbot, John, his son. 1 Henry VI. 

Tamora, (tam'o-ra) (W) Queen of Goths. Titus Andronicus. 

^ Taurus, (ta'rus) lieutenant general to Antony and 

Caesar. Cleopatra. 

Tearsheet, (tar'shet) Doll. 2 Henry IV. 

Thaisa, (tha'is-sa) daughter to Simonides. Pericles. 

Thaliard, a lord of Antioch. Pericles. 

Thersites, (ther-si'tez) a scurrilous Grecian. Troilus and Cressida. 

Theseus, (the'siis) or the'se-us) Duke of Midsummer-Night's 
Athens. Dream. 

Thomas, (tom'as) a friar. Measure for 

Measure. 

Thomas, Duke of Clarence. 2 Henry IV. 

Thurio, (thii'ri-o) (W) rival to Valentine. Two Gentlernen of 

Verona. 

Thyreus, friend to Caesar. Antony and 

Cleopatra. 

Timandra, (ti-man'dra) (W) mistress to 

Alcibiades. Timon of Athens. 

Timon, (ti'mon) a noble Athenian. Timon of Athens. 

Titania, (ti-ta'ni-a) Queen of the fairies. Midsummer-Night's 

Dream. 

Titinius, (tl-tin'i-us) (W) friend to Bru- 
tus and Cassius. Julius Caesar. 

Titus, (ti'tus) servant to Timon's credi- 
tors. Timon of Athens. 

Touchstone, (tuch'ston) a clown. As You Like It. 

Tranio, (tra'ni-6) servant to Lucentio. Taming of the 

Shrew. 

Travers, (tra'vers) domestic. 2 Henry IV. 

Trebonius, (tre-bo'ni-us) (W) a conspira- 
tor. Julius Caesar. 

Trinculo, (trin'kii-lo) a jester. The Tempest. 

Troilus, (tro'i-lus) son to Priam. Troilus and Cressida. 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 



251 



Tubal, (tu'bal) a Jew., friend to Shylock. Merchant of Venice. 

Tybalt, ( (tib'alt) nephew to Lady Capulet. Romeo and Juliet. 
Tyrrel, (tir'el) (S) Sir James. Richard III. 



Ulysses, (iji-lis'ez) Grecian commander. 
Ursula, (er'su-la) attendant on Hero. 

Urswick, Christopher, a priest. 



Troilus and Cressida. 
Much Ado About 

Nothing. 
Richard III. 



Valentine, (val'en-tm) attendant to the 

Duke. 
Valentine, a gentleman of Verona. 

Valeria, (va-le'ri-a) friend to Virgilia. 
Varrius, (var'i-us) (S) friend to Pompey. 

Varrius, servant to Duke. 

Varro, (var'o) servant to Brutus. 

Vaughn, (van) Sir Thomas. 

Vaux, (vaks). 

Vaux, Sir Nicholas. 

Velutus, Sincinius, tribune of people. 

Ventidius, (ven-tid'i-us) (W) friend to 

Antony. 
Ventidius, false friend to Timon. 
Verges, (ver'ges) a foolish officer. 

Vernon, (ver'non) Sir Richard. 
Vernon, White Rose, York faction. 
Vincentio, (vin-sen'shi5) old gentleman of 

Pisa. 
Vincentio, Duke of Vienna. 

Viola, (vi'ola) in love with the Duke. 
Virgilia, (ver-jil'i-a) wife to Coriolanus. 
Volenta, friend to the Widow. 

Voltimand, (vol'ti-mand) (W) courtier, 
ambassador to Norway. 



Twelfth Night. 
Two Gentlemen of 

Verona. 
Coriolanus. 
Antony and 

Cleopatra. 
Measure for 

Measure. 
Julius Caesar. 
Richard III. 
2 Henry VI. 
Henry VIII. 
Coriolanus. 
Antony and 

Cleopatra. 
Timon of Athens. 
Much Ado About 

Nothing. 
1 Henry IV. 
1 Henry VI. 
Taming of the 

Shrew. 
Measure for 

Measure. 
Twelfth Night. 
Coriolanus. 
All's Well That 

Ends Well. 

Hamlet. 



252 



INDEX TO CHARACTERS 



Volumnia, (v6-lum'ni-a) mother to Corio- 

lanus. Coriolanus. 

Volumnius, (v6-lum'ni-us) (W) friend to 

Brutus and Cassius. Julius Csesar. 



Wart, a recuit. 

Warwick, (wor'ik) Earl of 

Westminster, (west'min-ster) Abbot of 
Westmorland, (west'mor-land) Earl of 

Westmorland, Earl of 

Whitmore, (hwit'mor) (W) Walter. 

Widow, (wid'o) (W). 

Widow of Florence. 

William, (wiryam) a country fellow. 

Williams, a soldier in the King's army. 

Willoughby, (wil'o-bi) Lord. 

Witches or Weird Sisters. 

Wolsey, (wul'zi) Cardinal. 

Woodville, (wud'vil) lieutenant of Tower. 



2 Henrv VI. 
i 2 Henry VI. 

■\ Henry V. 
( 1, 2, 3 Henry VI. 

Richard II. 
j 1, 2, Henry IV. 
^ Henry V. 

3 Henry VI. 
2 Henry VI. 
Taming of the 

Shrew. 
All's Well That 

Ends Well. 
As You Like It. 
Henry V. 
Richard II. 
Macbeth. 
Henry VIII. 
1 Henry VI. 



York, (york) Duke of, cousin to King. Henry V. 

York, Duchess of Richard II. 

York, Duchess of, mother of Edward IV. Richard HI. 



GENERAL INDEX 



Action, effect of on Hamlet, 183 

Actors at Stratford, 31 

Act, always five; exposition, growth; 
climax, consequence, close, 80 

Adam, Shakespeare acting the part of 
in As You Like It, 37 

Angels, 60 

Animal life, Shakespeare's knowledge 
of, 65 

Antonio, 107, IIQ, 111; (see Mer- 
chant of Venice, page 225 

Antony, 138; illustration of Shakes- 
peare's code of morals, 52 

Antony and Cleopatra, 125 

Arden, Mary, Shakespeare's mother, 30. 
Forest of, 57 

Arraignment of Paris, The, play by 
Peele 23 

Aubrey,' John (1626-1697), Shakes- 
peare's first biographer, 25; quoted, 36 

Barnard, John, second husband of 
Elizabeth Hall, Shakespeare's grand- 
daughter; knighted by Charles II, 35; 
Ladv Barnard (Elizabeth Hall), 25, 
35, 39 
Barnfield, Richard, praises Shakespeare, 

41 
Barrett, Lawrence, 113 
Beeston, William, actor, died 1682, 25. 
Betterton (1625-1710), actor, 25 
Bible in Shakespeare, 54; in Merchant 

of Venice, 114 
Black friars theatre, 20, 21 
Blessed Sacrament, The play of, 8 
Brandes, George, quoted, 20, 126, 171, 
n 

Caesar, Julius, study of, 125 (See 
Julius Caesar, page 254. 

Characterization, Shakespeare's, 48; 
characters true to themselves, 48; 
women, 48; characters and plot, 49; 
dramatic purpose of, 50 

Chettle, Henry, Kind Hartes Dreame, 
37 

Church, attitude toward the drama, 19 

Classification of Shakespeare's plays, 
chronological (Dowden), 43; dra- 
matic (Snider), tragedy, comedy, 
history 81; tabular, 90; summary of, 
91 

Coat of Arms, Shakespeare's, 39 

Coleridge, quoted, 36, 52 

Comedy, first genuine, Ralph Roister 
Doister, 16; Comedy and Tragedy 



FALSTAFF S 

discussed and compared, 84; phases 
of. 86; classified, 88; summary of 
points, 92; law of, 92 

Comedy of Errors, Shakespeare's short- 
est play, 143 n 

Condell, Henry, edited first folio 1623, 
42 

Corpus Christi play, 8 

Coventry Mystery, 7 

Crudity of the early drama. Sir Philip 
Sidney's testimony, 18 

Deer stealing, 33 

Deluge, The, miracle-play, 8 

Denmark made famous by Hamlet, 171 

Digg's tribute to Shakespeare, 41 

Dowden, classification of Shakespeare's 
plays, 43; quoted, 34, 45, 52, 53 

Doyle, John T., case at law like that of 
Shylock and Antonio, 113 

Drama, defined, as an art, origin of, 3; 
ethics of, 4 ; English drama, origin, 
character, 5; development, mystery- 
play, 6; morality-play, 9; interlude, 
13; summary of characteristics, 15; 
modern drama, 16; crudity of the 
early drama, 18; restrictions on, 19; 
Shakespeare's dramas, 36, excluding 
Pericles, 89; chronological classifica- 
tion, 43; dramatic classification, 81; 
legendary, 87; historical, 88; table, 
90; summary of definitive points, 91 

Drayton, Michael, friend of Shakes- 
peare, 28 



Entrance and exits of characters 
(table) 102 

Ethical World, defined, application to 
life, law of, 4; plan of Shakespeare's 
Ethical World, divisions, institutions, 
70; family, state, property, world- 
spirit, 71 ; tabular classification, 73 

Ethical principles in Merchant of Ven- 
ice, Shylock, 5; in Julius Caesar, 
128; Macbeth, 151; Hamlet, 174; 
Fortinbras, 177; final grand tragedy 
in Hamlet, 208 

Ethics of the Shakespearean drama, 67; 
Nemesis, principle of sacrifice, Cor- 
delia, 68; 

Everyman, synopsis of, 11 

Fairies in Shakespeare, 59 
Falstaff's principle, ■ 51; condemned by 
Shakespeare, 52 



253 



254 



GENERAL INDEX 



Family institution, 70; in Hamlet, Royal 
family, Polonius' family, 179 

Faustus, Marlowe, 23 

Fe7-rex and Porrex or Gorboduc, first 
tragedy, 17 ■ 

Fortinbras, 175-179 

Four Ps, interlude by John Heywood, 
synopsis of, 14 

Gervinus, quoted on moral influence of 

Shakespeare, 52 
Ghost, as a motive power, 58; objective 
and subjective, 59; in Hamlet, 173, 
183, 190, 192, 193; in Macbeth, 154 
GorbLwluc, first tragedy, 17 
Grammar school at Stratford, 31 
Graphic illustration of plot {Hamlet), 

opposite page 81 
Greene, Robert, senior contemporary of 
Shakespeare, 23; jealous of Shakes- 
peare, 36 

Hall, Dr. John, husband of Susanna 
Shakespeare, 34; buried in Trinity 
church-yard, 39; Susanna Hall, 
Shakespeare's oldest child, marriage, 
34; death, epitaph, 35; Elizabeth 
daughter of John and Susanna Hall, 
married first, Thomas Nash, second, 
John Bernard, 35 

Hamlet, a study, 171; Hamlet litera 
ture, conditions under which the 
play was written, 171; Sphinx of 
literature, 172; points of interest 



Hecate, Oueen of the Witches, {Mac- 
beth), 146. 

Heminge, John, edited first folio of 
Shakespeare's plays, 1623, 42 

Haywood, John, first author of the 
interlude, 14 

Hudson, nvtoted, 8, 36 

Humor in Shakespeare, 60; sympathy 
with the fool, no unkind wit, 61 



Ideal elements in Tragedy and Comedy, 
87, 92; ideal realms, 60 

index to the characters in Shakes- 
peare's plays, 223 

Interlude, origin, character of, 13, 14; 
first author, John Haywood, 14; il- 
lustration. Four P's, 14 



Jones, Inego (1562), first to introduce 
movable scenery, 22 

Johnson, Gerard, monument, 41 

Jon£3n, Ben, Staple of News, con- 
versation between acts, 9, 10; Every 
Man in liis Humor, 40 

Julius Caesar, a study, 125, the three 
Roman plays, Coriolanus, Julius 
Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, theme, 
125; Julius Caesar, date, 125; source 
of plot, 126; Shakespeare's Caesar. 
126; Caesar in the play, 127; Brutus 
in the play, 127; tragedy and comedy 
of the play, 128; the Caesar of his- 
, ^ ^1 , -,„-c, £ ■ 1 4- tory, 130; structure, 132; time an- 

about the play, 173; foreign element, ^lysis 133 
Fortinbras 175 ; the family ipstitu- Q^/g^^^^^ ' supernatural element, 135; 

^'^^' ^""y^' ^^""'i-^'. -^° °u ''^ . Tq^' ~ Cassius and the conspiracy, 135; 
179; the contradictory Hamlet, 181; 

impulsive, imaginative, moral, reflec- 
tive, 182; effect of action on the in- 
active Hamlet, 183; source of plot, 
183; basis of the play and of the ac- 
tion, 184; Hamlet's position, 185; 

the conflict, 186; structure, 187; ques- , , . • ,. 

tions and topics, general, 189; char- ^^ sounds his praise, 41 
acterization (A) the Grost, 190; (B) Kenilworth, Queens visit to, 32 
Horatio and the Ghost, 19S; (C)i 
Hamlet in relation to other charac- 
ters, (I) the Ghost, 193; (II) the Laertes, son of Polonius, 178, 180, 
King, 194; (III) his mother, 196; 188, 209 
(IV) Ophelia, 198; (V) Polonius, Law, Shakespeare's knowledge of, 63 



Brutus, 136; Antony, 138; scheme 
for outline book, 139; themes for es- 
says and discussion, 140 



Kemp, fellow actor of Shakespeare, 



200; (VI) Rosencrantz and Guild 
enstern, 202; Horatio, 204; (D) Ham- 
let, 205; insanity, 206; (E) the King, 
207; (F) miscellaneous, 209; scheme 
for outline book, 212; topics for es- 
says and discussion, 213 
Hamlet and Macbeth, comparative 
study, (A) the plays, 214; (B) the 
men, 216; (C) the King and Mac- 
beth, 217; (D) the Oueen and Lady 
Macbeth, 217 
Hamnet, Shakespeare's son, 27, 34, 171 
Hathaway, Anne, wife of Shakespeare, 
34; death, 39 



Lear, followed by Nemesis, 69 

Lee, Sidney, life of Shakespeare, 26, 
28; quoted, 29, 33, 42 

London, theatres in, 20; Shakespeare s 
life in, 36 

Love's Labours's Lost, Shakespeare s 
first original drama, 37, 49; plot, 75; 
to be read, 99 

Lucy, Sir Thomas of Charlecote, poach- 
ing legend, S3 

Mabie, H. W., life of Shakespeare, 27; 
quoted, 59 



GENERAL INDEX 



255 



MACBETH 

Macbeth, a study,143 ; some features of the 
play, rapid dramatic action, 143; su- 
pernatural element, 144; beliefs of the 
times, 144; King James a believer in 
witchcraft, 145; Weird Sisters, 145; 
Hecate, 146; the porter, 148; theme, 
149; basis of the drama, 150; ques- 
tions and topics for discussion, (A) 
review, 152, (B) the play, 153, (C) 
supernatural elements, 153, (D) char- 
acterization, (I) Macbeth, 157; (II) 
Lady Macbeth, 162; (II) Banquo 
166; general, 166; scheme for out- 
line book, 166; topics for essays and 
discussion, 168; Hamlet and Mac- 
beth, comparative study, 214, (see 
Hamlet, page 254) 

Medical knowledge of Shakespeare, 63 

Merchant of Venice, table of entrance 
and exits of characters, 102; illustra- 
tion of study of an individual play, 
103 

Merchant of Venice, a study, 106; source 
of plot, 106; theme, 107; theme traced, 
108; structure. 111; some legal as- 
pects, 113; the Bible in, 114; ques- 
tions, 118; schemes for outline book, 
(A) 121; (B) 122; topics for essays 
and discussion, 123 

Meres, Francis (1598), appreciative ol 
Shakespeare, 41 

Miracle-plays, defined, 6; performance 
of, 7; illustration. Play of the Blessed 
Sacrament, 8; forbidden by Parlia- 
ment, 19 

Morality-play, defined, ethical nature of, 
9; changes in the tone of the drama, 
10; illustration, Everyman, 11 

Morals, 51; Shakespeare's treatment of 
immoral characters, vice pardoned, not 
condoned, 57; Falstafif, 51, 52; Dow- 
den quoted, Antony, Othello, 52 

Monument, Gerard Johnson, 41 

Moulton, R. G., moral system of 
Shakespeare, 53, n; quoted (super- 
natural), 59 

Movements, dramatic, 78; defined, 79 

Music, Shakespeare's familiarity with, 
62; in the Merchant of Venice, As 
You Like It, 62 _ 

Mystery-play, Snider's summary of 
characteristics, 6; performance of, 7; 
(see Miracle-plays, page 255) 

Nemesis, defined, illustration, Shylock, 
68; in Lear, 69; Julius Caesar, 130; 
Macbeth, 151; Hamlet, 209 

Newcastle, Duchess of, estimates of 
Shakespeare, 41 

Ophelia, member of a conscienceless 
family, 180; relations to Hamlet, 198 
Othello, referred to, 52, 75 

Parliament, attitude toward the 
drama, 19; law of, against poaching, 33 



SHAKESPEARE 

Peele, George, senior contemporary of 
Shakespeare, 23 

Phillips, J. O. Halliwell, life of Shakes- 
peare, 26 

Play, up to the time of Shakespeare, 14; 
performance of, 21; lack of scenery, 
22; Shakespeare's apology (Henry V) 
22; Shakespeare's plays, length, 143^ 
173 n (see drama, Shakespeare, page 
253) 

Plot, defined, 74; incidents of plot and 
of story, 74; Shakespeare's sources of, 
historical plays, 74; legendary, 75; 
plot and characters, relation, 49, 
graphic illustration of {H-amlet) op- 
posite 81 

Poaching legend, 33 

Puritanism, attitude toward amuse- 
ments, 19 

Questions on the text of, (I) introduc- 
tory study, 93; (II) principles and 
structure of the Shakespearean drama, 
97 following the study of each play, 
Merchant of Venice, 118; Julius Cae- 
sar, 135; Macbeth, 152; Hamlet, 189 

Quincy, Thomas, married Judith 
Shakespeare, 34; Quincy, Judith, 
Shakespeare's younger daughter, her 
family, 35 

Ralph Roister Doister, first comedy, 

brief synopsis of, 16 
Records, items from; what we actually 

know about Shakespeare, 27 
Reformation, effect upon morality-play, 

10; influence of, 14, 19 
Religion in Shakespeare's works, 53; in 

Hamlet, 54, 172; biblical allusions, 

55; in the Merchant of Venice, 114 
Rowe, Nicholas (1673-1781), first real 

biographer of Shakespeare (1709), 25 

Sackville Thomas, author of first 
tragedy, (Garboduc), (1562), 17 

Saintsbury, quoted, three distinguish- 
ing points in Shakespeare, 45; three 
distinct purposes, 47 

Shakespeare and the Shakespearean 
drama, 19; senior contemporaries, 23 

Shakespeares in Warwickshire, 29; spell- 
ing of the name, 29 

Shakespeare, John, father of William, 
30 

Shakespeare, Susanna, Judith, Hamnet, 
children of Shakespeare, 34 

Shakespeare, Gilbert, Richard, Ed- 
mund, Joan, Afine, brothers and sis- 
ters of William, 31 

Shakespeare, William, sketch of his life, 
24; scarcity of records, 24; facts 
from records, 27; early biographers, 
Aubrey (1626-1697), Rowe (1673- 
1718), Malone (1741-1812), 25; later 



256 



GENERAL INDEX 



SHAKESPEARE 



biographers, J. O. Halliwell-Phillips Study of Shakespeare; suggestions, 99; 

lir ^^VPu^^-^' Sidney Lee ( ), H.l individual play, 100; illustration, 103: 

W. Mabee ( ) ; environment of special plays, 105. 

nature, 28; Drayton, Mabie, Wm. Supernatural in Shakespeare, 57- su- 



Winter quoted, 29; birth and bap 
tism, 29; ancestry, 30; parents, 30; 
brothers and sisters, 31; boyhood and 
education, 31; influence of Stratford 
and surroundings, 31, 32; poaching 
legend, S3; marriage, children, 34; in 
London, 35; residence in London, 
35; Greene's jealousy, 36; re- 



perstitious beliefs, 57; Shakespeare's 
use of the supernatural, 57; nature 
Forest of Arden; Midsummer Night's 
Dream; The Tempest, 58; as a motive 
power, 58; Moulton's three proposi- 
tions, 59; forms of supernatural in 
Shakespeare, 59 



casting plays, 37; play-writing, 38; ^^ • oi i > • 

interest in Stratford, investments, 38 r™™^ '", Shakespeare s time, 19; 
coat of arms, 39; will, death and' ,^t™""^^. P^^^^^j' etC;, 19 
burial, 39; cause of death, 40; testi-;^^^^*^^? ^'^t,, S^l?'^' ^^^, T^^^*^^' ^^^ 
mony of contemporaries as to per-! Curtain Black Friars, Globe, 20 ;_ situ- 
sonal character and writings, 41;' l\^°^' ^^' classes, public and private, 
translations and Shakespeareana, 42;!^., j • j .- ^ 

Shakespeare library in Birmingham, l^^^^l^^, ^^^ dramatic structure, 76; 
England, nearly 10,000 volumes, Uni-L detined, 79 , , . ot, i 

versity of Michigan, U. S. A., 5,082 ^^P^^^^ *° ^% "°t^d m _ Shakespeare s 
vols., 42; writings first collected and I Pl^^^' morals, 51; religion, 53; Bible 
edited by Heminges and Condell f^' supernatural, 57; forms of, 59; 
(1623), 42; Dowden's chronological! humor 60; music 62; law, medical 
table of plays, 43; Shakespeare as a' knowledge, 63; physical science, na- 
dramatist, 45; his greatness, Taine ^ t"''^\ ^*i typography, vocabulary, 66 
quoted, 24; Dowden, Ben Jonson, 24; tragedy, first, Gorboduc, 17; tragedy 
Snider, 45; Saintsbury, 46, 47; his ^^^ fT^j^ discussed and compared, 
work as an artist, 48; always loyal to' f*' defined, 84; classified, real, ideal, 
the institutions of state and family, ^ ^^' ^^^ °*' ^^ 
52; moral system, 53; use of Bible, 



54; of the supernatural, 57; humor, 
60; law, medical knowledge, 63; na- 
ture, plant and animal life, 65 ; typo- 
graphy, vocabulary, 66; versatility, 
99; characterization (see page 253) 

Snitterfield, early home of John 
Shakespeare, 60. 

Sphinx, Brutus, 137; Hamlet, 211; of 
literature (Hamlet), 172 

Stratford-onAvon, Shakespeare's birth- 
place, early home, 27; home in later 
years, 39; death and burial, 39, 40; 
environments of natvire, 28 

Structure, dramatic, of Shakespeare's 
plays, threads, movements, 76; me- 
chanical structure, acts and scenes, 
80 I 



Udall, Nicholas, author of first com- 
edy, 16 

Universal knowledge of Shakespeare, 
63 

University, Shakespeare's, 32 

Versatility, Shakespeare's, 99 
Virtue and vice compared, vice par- 
doned, not condoned, 51 

Warwickshire, England, beauties _ of 
nature, Drayton quoted, 28; William 
Winter quoted, 29, 40 

Women, Shakespeare's, 48. 

Witches in Shakespeare, 59; in Mac- 
beth (see page 2S5) 



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